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.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant gladiolus by looking at the USDA zone info for Ames.

Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

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

Gladiolus tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus 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 gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gladiolus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your gladiolus indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Ames is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ames there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your gladiolus in the event of 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.