When to Plant Tarragon 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 looking at the USDA zone info for Altoona it's possible to determine when to plant tarragon.


Planting Calendar for Tarragon

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

Tarragon do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant tarragon in Altoona 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 tarragon and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tarragon may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tarragon indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Altoona the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Altoona is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Altoona you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your tarragon in the event of 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.