One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The USDA zone info for Elsa can be reviewed to estimate when you can plant artichokes.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

You can plant artichokes a little bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Elsa is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Elsa the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

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 Elsa and it is different every year. Half of the time in Elsa there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your artichokes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elsa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Elsa

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