One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 opportunity to plant clover in Ankeny can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Clover

Frost tolerance for clover:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant clover just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

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

The last month that you can plant clover and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your clover may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your clover indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Ankeny. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ankeny is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ankeny last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your clover if you have one of those late frosts.

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.