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 earliest that you can plant chicory in Zone 12a can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

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 a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Zone 12a 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 chicory and expect a good harvest is probably November. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chicory may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your chicory indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 12a it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 50°F.

Always keep in mind 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 Zone 12a and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12a you do not have to be ready to protect your chicory in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	50°F
Highest Expected Low	55°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 55°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 12a.