The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when to plant chicory is to use the USDA zone info for Federal Way.

Planting Calendar for Chicory

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

You can plant chicory just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Federal Way 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 chicory and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your chicory may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chicory indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Federal Way. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Federal Way and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Federal Way there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your chicory if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Federal Way

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 Federal Way

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Federal Way.