When to Plant Torch Lilys in Grimes, IA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Grimes should be reffered to in order to figure out when you can plant torch lilys.


Planting Calendar for Torch Lilys

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

Since torch lilys are very cold tolerant you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant torch lilys in Grimes 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 torch lilys and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your torch lilys may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your torch lilys indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Grimes. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Grimes is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Grimes there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your torch lilys if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Grimes

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 Grimes

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