The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Des Moines should be reffered to in order to determine when it's a good idea to plant saxifraga.

Planting Calendar for Saxifraga

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

You can plant saxifraga just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant saxifraga 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 saxifraga and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your saxifraga may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your saxifraga indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Des Moines the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Des Moines is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Des Moines there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your saxifraga 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.