One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You can figure out when it's the best time to plant jerusalem artichokes in Pierre by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

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

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

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes in Pierre 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 jerusalem artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your jerusalem artichokes may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your jerusalem artichokes indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Pierre is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Pierre you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your jerusalem artichokes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pierre

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 Pierre

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