The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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 figure out when it's a good idea to plant winter savory.

Planting Calendar for Winter Savory

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

You can plant winter savory a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant winter savory 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 winter savory and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your winter savory may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your winter savory 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. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ames and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ames last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your winter savory 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.