When to Plant Delphinium in Adel, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when you can plant delphinium by checking out the USDA zone info for Adel.


Planting Calendar for Delphinium

Frost tolerance for delphinium: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since delphinium are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant delphinium in Adel is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant delphinium and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your delphinium may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your delphinium indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Adel 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 Adel there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your delphinium in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Adel

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 Adel

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