One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

You can determine when you can plant aurinia in Ames by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Aurinia

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

Aurinia tend to make it in cold weather which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant aurinia 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 aurinia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your aurinia may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your aurinia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ames and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Ames there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your aurinia in the event of 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.