When to Plant Scaevola in Fort Dodge, IA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Fort Dodge you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant scaevola.


Planting Calendar for Scaevola

Frost tolerance for scaevola: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Scaevola do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant scaevola
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant scaevola
Probably not a good time to plant scaevola

The earliest that you can plant scaevola 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 scaevola and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your scaevola may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your scaevola indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Fort Dodge. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Fort Dodge may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Fort Dodge it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your scaevola in the event of 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.