The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when you can plant jerusalem artichokes by looking at the USDA zone info for Elgin.

Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

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

Since jerusalem artichokes are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes in Elgin 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 jerusalem artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your jerusalem artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your jerusalem artichokes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Elgin and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Elgin last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your jerusalem artichokes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elgin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Elgin

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