When to Plant Okra in Iowa City, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when to plant okra in Iowa City by referring to the USDA zone info.

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Planting Calendar for Okra

Frost tolerance for okra: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since okra do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant okra in Iowa City is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant okra and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your okra may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Iowa City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Iowa City is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Iowa City last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your okra if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Iowa City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Iowa City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Iowa City.