Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden 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 possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant nierembergia by using the USDA zone info for Ames.

Planting Calendar for Nierembergia

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

Since nierembergia do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant nierembergia 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 nierembergia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your nierembergia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your nierembergia indoors.

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.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Ames is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ames it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your nierembergia in the event of 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.