The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant strawberries by checking out the USDA zone info for Ankeny.

Planting Calendar for Strawberries

Frost tolerance for strawberries:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since strawberries do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant strawberries 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 strawberries and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your strawberries may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your strawberries indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ankeny. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ankeny may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ankeny you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your strawberries 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.