One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant aubretia is to use the USDA zone info for Dubuque.

Planting Calendar for Aubretia

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

Since aubretia are very cold tolerant you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant aubretia in Dubuque 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 aubretia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your aubretia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your aubretia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Dubuque the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Dubuque and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Dubuque there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your aubretia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dubuque

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Dubuque

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Dubuque.