When to Plant Rhubarb in Decorah, IA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 Decorah you can estimate when you can plant rhubarb by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

Frost tolerance for rhubarb: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant rhubarb a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb in Decorah 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rhubarb may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your rhubarb indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Decorah. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Decorah may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Decorah you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your rhubarb if you have one of those late frosts.

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.