The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when you can plant bok choi is to refer to the USDA zone info for Rome.

Planting Calendar for Bok Choi

Frost tolerance for bok choi:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant bok choi just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant bok choi in Rome is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant bok choi and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bok choi may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your bok choi indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rome. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rome is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rome last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your bok choi in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rome

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Rome

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rome.