One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 USDA zone info for Ames can be used to figure out when to plant sutera.

Planting Calendar for Sutera

Frost tolerance for sutera:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Sutera do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant sutera in Ames is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant sutera and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your sutera may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your sutera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ames. 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 will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ames last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your sutera 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.