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.

The first chance to plant vinca vine in Ames should be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Vinca Vine

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

Since vinca vine do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant vinca vine 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 vinca vine and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your vinca vine may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your vinca vine indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ames the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ames is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ames you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your vinca vine if you have a surprise late frost.

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.