Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant celery is to look at the USDA zone info for Ames.

Planting Calendar for Celery

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

Celery are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

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.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Ames is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Ames last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your celery if you have a surprise 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.