One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when you can plant endive is to examine the USDA zone info for Lancaster.

Planting Calendar for Endive

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

Endive can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant endive in Lancaster 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 endive and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your endive may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your endive indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Lancaster. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

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 Lancaster and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Lancaster last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your endive if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Lancaster

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