When to Plant Scabiosa in Decorah, IA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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 Decorah should be used to determine when it's a good idea to plant scabiosa.


Planting Calendar for Scabiosa

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

Scabiosa tend to make it in some cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

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

Last Frost Date

In Decorah the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Decorah is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Decorah you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your scabiosa in the event of a surprise 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.