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 using the USDA zone info for Ames you should be able to determine when it's possible to plant roses.

Planting Calendar for Roses

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

Since roses are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant roses 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 roses and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your roses may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your roses indoors is a great way to get them started a few 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.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ames is not always accurate and 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 protect your roses 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.