Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant four o' clock in Des Moines should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Four O' Clock

Frost tolerance for four o' clock:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since four o' clock require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant four o' clock 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 four o' clock and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your four o' clock may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your four o' clock indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Des Moines. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Des Moines and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Des Moines you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your four o' clock 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.