One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 Ames it's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant aegopodium.

Planting Calendar for Aegopodium

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

Aegopodium are very cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Ames. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ames is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Ames you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your aegopodium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ames

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 Ames

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