When to Plant Artichokes in Harrisburg, PA

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 figure out when it's the best time to plant artichokes by reviewing the USDA zone info for Harrisburg.


Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Artichokes do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant artichokes
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant artichokes
Probably not a good time to plant artichokes

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Harrisburg 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 artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your artichokes may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your artichokes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Harrisburg. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Harrisburg may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Harrisburg it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your artichokes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Harrisburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Harrisburg

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