One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant napa cabbage in Ankeny should be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Napa cabbage

Frost tolerance for napa cabbage:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Napa cabbage can survive in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant napa cabbage in Ankeny is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant napa cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your napa cabbage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your napa cabbage indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Ankeny. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ankeny may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ankeny you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your napa cabbage if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ankeny

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Ankeny

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Ankeny.