Witloof chicory · Norfolk, Virginia, United States
When to plant witloof chicory in Norfolk
Main outdoor window
24 Mar - 14 Apr
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
10 March
In Norfolk, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Nov - 31 Mar
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Norfolk
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Sow direct
24 Mar - 14 Apr
Two weeks after your last frost.
Harvest
1 Nov - 31 Mar
Witloof chicory through the year
Against the frost risk in Norfolk
Why these dates
Sow around two weeks after the last frost and leave the plant to build a root all season. Lift after the first frosts, trim the leaves, and force in darkness at about 12C.
The root is hardy to about -8C and a frost before lifting is traditionally thought to improve forcing, so there is no rush to get it up.
Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Witloof chicory are timed for direct sowing 2 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Norfolk.
The median frost-free season here is 272 days, against 150 to 180 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.
Also in Norfolk
Other vegetables to time
Growing witloof chicory in Norfolk
When should I plant witloof chicory in Norfolk?
Aim for 24 Mar - 14 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 11 Apr - 2 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will witloof chicory be ready to harvest in Norfolk?
Expect to start picking around 1 Nov - 31 Mar, based on 150 to 180 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will witloof chicory tolerate?
The root is hardy to about -8C and a frost before lifting is traditionally thought to improve forcing, so there is no rush to get it up.