One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Madison can be looked at to figure out when to plant radicchio.

Planting Calendar for Radicchio

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

Radicchio are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant radicchio in Madison is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant radicchio and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your radicchio may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your radicchio indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Madison. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Madison is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Madison you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your radicchio if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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