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.

The best time to plant geranium in Fort Madison should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Geranium

Frost tolerance for geranium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since geranium do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant geranium in Fort Madison 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 geranium and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your geranium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your geranium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Fort Madison is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Madison last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your geranium 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.