One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

It's a good idea to determine when to plant four o' clock by looking at the USDA zone info for Council Bluffs.

Planting Calendar for Four O' Clock

Frost tolerance for four o' clock:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant four o' clock until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant four o' clock in Council Bluffs 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 four o' clock and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your four o' clock may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your four o' clock indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Council Bluffs. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Council Bluffs is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Council Bluffs there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your four o' clock in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Council Bluffs

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Council Bluffs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Council Bluffs.