Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant chicory by using the USDA zone info for Lima.

Planting Calendar for Chicory

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

You can plant chicory 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 chicory in Lima 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 chicory and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your chicory may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your chicory indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Lima. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lima and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lima it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your chicory if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lima

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Lima

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