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.

It's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant chicory by referring to the USDA zone info for Zone 12b.

Planting Calendar for Chicory

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

Since chicory do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Zone 12b 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. Any later than that and your chicory may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chicory indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 12b it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 55°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 12b is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12b you do not have to be ready to cover your chicory in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	55°F
Highest Expected Low	60°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 55°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 60°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12b

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