One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Fort Madison you will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant hemerocallis.

Planting Calendar for Hemerocallis

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

Since hemerocallis do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant hemerocallis 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 hemerocallis and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your hemerocallis may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your hemerocallis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Madison may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Fort Madison it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your hemerocallis if you have a 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.