When to Plant Celosia in Altoona, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

You can figure out when you can plant celosia in Altoona by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Celosia

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

Celosia require warm weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant celosia in Altoona 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 celosia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your celosia may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your celosia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Altoona. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Altoona and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Altoona you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your celosia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

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 Altoona

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