One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to determine when it's possible to plant skullcap by referring to the USDA zone info for Ankeny.

Planting Calendar for Skullcap

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

It's not a good idea to plant skullcap until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant skullcap 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 skullcap and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your skullcap may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your skullcap indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ankeny the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ankeny is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ankeny you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your skullcap if you have a 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.