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 first chance to plant chrysocephalum in Ankeny should be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chrysocephalum

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant chrysocephalum until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant chrysocephalum in Ankeny 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 chrysocephalum and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your chrysocephalum may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your chrysocephalum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ankeny 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Ankeny is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ankeny it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your chrysocephalum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ankeny

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 Ankeny

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