One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The first chance to plant lisianthus in Des Moines can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lisianthus

Frost tolerance for lisianthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since lisianthus require warm weather you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant lisianthus 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 lisianthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lisianthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lisianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Des Moines is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Des Moines you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lisianthus 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.