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 a good idea to plant cigar plant in Ames by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cigar Plant

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

Cigar Plant require warm weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Ames. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ames and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ames there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cigar plant 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.