When to Plant Radicchio in Madison, WI

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

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Madison it's possible to determine when it's possible to plant radicchio.


Planting Calendar for Radicchio

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

Since radicchio do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant radicchio
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant radicchio
Probably not a good time to plant radicchio

The earliest that you can plant radicchio in Madison 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 radicchio and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your radicchio may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your radicchio indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Madison. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Madison is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Madison you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your radicchio if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Madison

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