One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 first chance to plant periwinkles in Fort Dodge can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Periwinkles

Frost tolerance for periwinkles:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You really shouldn't plant periwinkles until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant periwinkles in Fort Dodge 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 periwinkles and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your periwinkles may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your periwinkles indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Fort Dodge the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Fort Dodge is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Dodge last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your periwinkles if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Dodge

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 Fort Dodge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Dodge.