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.

It's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant rosemary by looking at the USDA zone info for Fort Madison.

Planting Calendar for Rosemary

Frost tolerance for rosemary:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Rosemary can survive in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant rosemary 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 rosemary and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your rosemary may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your rosemary indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Fort Madison. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Madison is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Madison it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your rosemary 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.