One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's possible to plant angelonia by referring to the USDA zone info for Des Moines.

Planting Calendar for Angelonia

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

You can plant angelonia a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant angelonia in Des Moines 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 angelonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your angelonia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your angelonia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Des Moines and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Des Moines last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your angelonia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Des Moines

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 Des Moines

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Des Moines.