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When to Plant Flower-of-an-Hour in Des Moines, IA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Des Moines you will be able to determine when to plant flower-of-an-hour.


Planting Calendar for Flower-of-an-Hour

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

Since flower-of-an-hour are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant flower-of-an-hour
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant flower-of-an-hour
Probably not a good time to plant flower-of-an-hour

The earliest that you can plant flower-of-an-hour 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 flower-of-an-hour and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your flower-of-an-hour may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your flower-of-an-hour indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Des Moines the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Des Moines and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Des Moines you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your flower-of-an-hour if you have a surprise 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.