Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden 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 Charleston can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's a good idea to plant endive.

Planting Calendar for Endive

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

Since endive are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant endive in Charleston is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant endive and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your endive may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your endive 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 February 15 in Charleston. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Charleston is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Charleston it frosts late in the year after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your endive in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°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 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Charleston

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