One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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 best time to plant nasturtium in Ankeny can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nasturtium

Frost tolerance for nasturtium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Nasturtium do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant nasturtium 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 nasturtium and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your nasturtium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your nasturtium 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. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ankeny is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ankeny there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your nasturtium 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.