When to Plant Dusty Miller in Clear Lake, IA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Clear Lake you can figure out when to plant dusty miller by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Dusty Miller

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

You can plant dusty miller much earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant dusty miller
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant dusty miller
Probably not a good time to plant dusty miller

The earliest that you can plant dusty miller in Clear Lake 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 dusty miller and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your dusty miller may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your dusty miller indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Clear Lake the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Clear Lake is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Clear Lake you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your dusty miller if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Clear Lake

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 Clear Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Clear Lake.