One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The earliest that you can plant heuchera in Ames can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Heuchera

Frost tolerance for heuchera:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Heuchera do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant heuchera 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 heuchera and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your heuchera may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your heuchera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ames the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ames may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ames you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your heuchera 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.