One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids it's possible to estimate when to plant tritoma.

Planting Calendar for Tritoma

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

Tritoma do well in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant tritoma 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 tritoma and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tritoma may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tritoma indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Cedar Rapids you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your tritoma if you have 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.