One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Ankeny you can figure out when it's possible to plant romanesco by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Romanesco

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

Since romanesco do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant romanesco 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 romanesco and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your romanesco may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your romanesco indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Ankeny. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Ankeny may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary 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 romanesco in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.