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When to Plant Primroses in Des Moines, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Des Moines you will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant primroses.

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Planting Calendar for Primroses

Frost tolerance for primroses: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since primroses are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant primroses
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant primroses
Probably not a good time to plant primroses

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

The last month that you can plant primroses and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your primroses may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your primroses indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Des Moines and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Des Moines you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your primroses if you have 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.