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

One way of determining when it's the best time to plant coreopsis is to examine the USDA zone info for Fort Madison.

Planting Calendar for Coreopsis

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

Coreopsis do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant coreopsis in Fort Madison 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 coreopsis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your coreopsis may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your coreopsis indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Fort Madison. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Fort Madison and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Madison you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your coreopsis in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Madison

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