The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant forget-me-not by checking out the USDA zone info for Ames.

Planting Calendar for Forget-Me-Not

Frost tolerance for forget-me-not:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant forget-me-not a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant forget-me-not 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 forget-me-not and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your forget-me-not may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your forget-me-not indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of 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.

Just be sure 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 can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ames there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your forget-me-not if you have one of those late frosts.

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.