One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Dubuque you should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant romanesco.

Planting Calendar for Romanesco

Frost tolerance for romanesco:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since romanesco do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant romanesco 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 romanesco and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your romanesco may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your romanesco indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Dubuque the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Dubuque is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Dubuque last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your romanesco in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.