When to Plant Primroses in Altoona, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Altoona you should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant primroses.


Planting Calendar for Primroses

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

Primroses are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant primroses in Altoona 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 primroses and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your primroses may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your primroses indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Altoona is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Altoona you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your primroses if you have a 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.