One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant sweet woodruff in Ames by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sweet Woodruff

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

Since sweet woodruff are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant sweet woodruff 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 sweet woodruff and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your sweet woodruff may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your sweet woodruff indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of 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.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ames is an average 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 ready to protect your sweet woodruff 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.