When to Plant Chicory in Pittsburgh, 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Pittsburgh you should be able to determine when to plant chicory.


Planting Calendar for Chicory

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

Chicory are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Pittsburgh 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chicory indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Pittsburgh. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Pittsburgh is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Pittsburgh you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your chicory in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Pittsburgh

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

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

Plants to Grow in Pittsburgh

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