Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Ames can be looked at to figure out when it's possible to plant amaranthus.

Planting Calendar for Amaranthus

Frost tolerance for amaranthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's probably a bad idea to plant amaranthus until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant amaranthus in Ames 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 amaranthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your amaranthus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your amaranthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Ames is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ames you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your amaranthus if you have one of those late frosts.

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.