Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Ankeny you will be able to determine when it's possible to plant lovage.

Planting Calendar for Lovage

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

Lovage do ok in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lovage 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 lovage and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your lovage may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lovage indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ankeny 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.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ankeny is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ankeny you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lovage 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.