Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when you can plant platycodon is to check out the USDA zone info for Fort Dodge.

Planting Calendar for Platycodon

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

Since platycodon are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant platycodon in Fort Dodge 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 platycodon and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your platycodon may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your platycodon indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Dodge is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Fort Dodge you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your platycodon 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.