Endive · Chengdu, Sichuan, China

When to plant endive in Chengdu

Main outdoor window

31 Jan - 21 Feb

The window this page is built around.

Timed from last spring frost

14 February

In Chengdu, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

1 Aug - 30 Nov

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Cautious Balanced Bold

Step by step in Chengdu

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.

Start indoors

3-24 Jan

Six weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.

Sow for autumn

28 Jul - 18 Aug

Counting back 114 days from your first frost so the crop matures in time.

Sow direct

28 Feb - 21 Mar

Two weeks after your last frost.

Sow direct

31 Jan - 21 Feb

Two weeks before your last frost.

Harvest

1 Aug - 30 Nov

Sow in succession. A single sowing gives you a single glut. Sow a short row every 21 days through the window above and you get a steady supply instead.

Frost tolerance

Hardy

Damaged below

-6°C (21.2°F)

Days to maturity

80–100

Min soil temp

7°C (44.6°F)

Spacing

30 cm

Sowing depth

6 mm (0.2 in)

Sun

Full

Endive through the year

Against the frost risk in Chengdu

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Endive

Frost risk Start indoors Autumn sowing Sow direct Plant out Harvest Today

Why these dates

Sow from two weeks after the last frost through midsummer for autumn heads. Early sowings bolt, so this is one to hold back rather than rush.

Hardy to about -6C, and blanching heads under a pot also shelters them from the first frosts.

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. Endive are timed from 6 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 2 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Chengdu.

The median frost-free season here is 300 days, against 80 to 100 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for Chengdu →

Nearby

Endive in places close by

Meishan 73 km Ziyang 82 km Mianyang 107 km Neijiang 154 km Zigong 162 km Nanchong 193 km

Also in Chengdu

Other vegetables to time

Tomatoes tender Lettuce half hardy Potatoes half hardy Courgettes tender Sweet peppers tender Carrots hardy Cucumbers tender Green beans tender Peas hardy Garlic very hardy Chilli peppers tender Sweetcorn tender

Growing endive in Chengdu

When should I plant endive in Chengdu?

Aim for 31 Jan - 21 Feb in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 20 Feb - 13 Mar - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When will endive be ready to harvest in Chengdu?

Expect to start picking around 1 Aug - 30 Nov, based on 80 to 100 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.

How much frost will endive tolerate?

Hardy to about -6C, and blanching heads under a pot also shelters them from the first frosts.