The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

One way of figuring out when you can plant diascia is to refer to the USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids.

Planting Calendar for Diascia

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

Since diascia are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant diascia in Cedar Rapids 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 diascia and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your diascia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your diascia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Cedar Rapids. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Cedar Rapids you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your diascia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cedar Rapids

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 Cedar Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cedar Rapids.