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

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant artichokes in Staunton by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Artichokes can survive in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Staunton 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 really do well. Starting your artichokes indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Staunton. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Staunton may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Staunton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your artichokes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Staunton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Staunton

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