The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant banana in Des Moines should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Banana

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

You should not plant banana until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant banana in Des Moines is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant banana and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your banana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your banana indoors.

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.

Since the USDA zone info for Des Moines may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Des Moines last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your banana if you have one of those late frosts.

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.