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.

It's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant roses by referring to the USDA zone info for Fort Dodge.

Planting Calendar for Roses

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

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

The earliest that you can plant roses 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 roses and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your roses may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your roses indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Fort Dodge 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.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Fort Dodge is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Fort Dodge you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your roses if you have a surprise 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.