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

In Fort Dodge you can determine when to plant rhubarb by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

You can plant rhubarb a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb in Fort Dodge 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your rhubarb may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your rhubarb indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Dodge may not be accurate from year to year 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 surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your rhubarb 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.