Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Council Bluffs should be used to figure out when it's a good idea to plant sweet peas.

Planting Calendar for Sweet Peas

Frost tolerance for sweet peas:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Sweet Peas do ok in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant sweet peas in Council Bluffs is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant sweet peas and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your sweet peas may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your sweet peas indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Council Bluffs is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary 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 sweet peas 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.