The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The first opportunity to plant pansies in Ames can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

Frost tolerance for pansies:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Pansies do ok in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant pansies 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 pansies and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your pansies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your pansies indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Ames. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ames is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ames it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your pansies 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.