The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Ames it's a good idea to determine when to plant nemesia.

Planting Calendar for Nemesia

Frost tolerance for nemesia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Nemesia require warm weather which tells us that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant nemesia 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 nemesia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your nemesia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your nemesia 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. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

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 will vary 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 nemesia 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.