One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 it's the best time to plant chinese celery in Ames by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chinese celery

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

Chinese 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 chinese 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 chinese celery and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your chinese celery may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your chinese celery 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. 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 not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ames and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Ames there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your chinese 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.