One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant achimenes is to examine the USDA zone info for Anamosa.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

Frost tolerance for achimenes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Achimenes require warm weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The last month that you can plant achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your achimenes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your achimenes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Anamosa and it is different every year. Half of the time in Anamosa last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your achimenes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Anamosa

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 Anamosa

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Anamosa.