The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when to plant dusty miller is to use the USDA zone info for Grinnell.

Planting Calendar for Dusty Miller

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

You can plant dusty miller quite a bit earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant dusty miller in Grinnell 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 dusty miller and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your dusty miller may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dusty miller indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Grinnell. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Grinnell may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Grinnell last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your dusty miller in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Grinnell

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 Grinnell

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