When to Plant Sedum in Altoona, 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Altoona you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant sedum.


Planting Calendar for Sedum

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

You can plant sedum a lot earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

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

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

Last Frost Date

In Altoona the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Altoona may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Altoona last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your sedum if you have one of those late frosts.

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.