One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when you can plant artichokes by using the USDA zone info for Franklin.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Artichokes do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Franklin 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 artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your artichokes may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Franklin. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Franklin and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Franklin you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your artichokes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

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

Plants to Grow in Franklin

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