When to Plant Periwinkles in Decorah, IA

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.

The first chance to plant periwinkles in Decorah should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Periwinkles

Frost tolerance for periwinkles: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably a bad idea to plant periwinkles until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant periwinkles in Decorah is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Decorah. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Decorah and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Decorah there is a last frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your periwinkles in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Decorah

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Decorah

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Decorah.