When to Plant Artichokes in Oil City, PA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Oil City should be used to determine when it's possible to plant artichokes.


Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Artichokes tend to make it in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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 Oil City 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. Starting your artichokes indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Oil City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Oil City is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Oil City it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your artichokes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oil City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Oil City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oil City.