One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to estimate when to plant celosia by checking out the USDA zone info for Ames.

Planting Calendar for Celosia

Frost tolerance for celosia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Celosia require warm weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Ames is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ames you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your celosia 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.