Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when it's possible to plant artichokes is to look at the USDA zone info for Sunnyvale.

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 just a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Sunnyvale 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. If you wait any later than that and your artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your artichokes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Sunnyvale. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Sunnyvale may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Sunnyvale you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your artichokes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sunnyvale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Sunnyvale

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