One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

You can determine when it's possible to plant iceland poppy in Ankeny by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Iceland Poppy

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

You can plant iceland poppy a little bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant iceland poppy in Ankeny 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 iceland poppy and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your iceland poppy may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your iceland poppy indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is 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 may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ankeny there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your iceland poppy if you have 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.