When to Plant Artichokes in Zone 2b

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant artichokes is to check out the USDA zone info for Zone 2b.


Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Artichokes are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Zone 2b is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your artichokes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Zone 2b. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -45°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 Zone 2b and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 2b there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your artichokes in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 2b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)August 15
Lowest Expected Low-45°F
Highest Expected Low-40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -45°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -40°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 2b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 2b.