One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 earliest that you can plant oleander in Des Moines can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oleander

Frost tolerance for oleander:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Oleander require warm weather which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average 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 you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your oleander 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.