When to Plant Maltese Cross in Grimes, IA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 USDA zone info for Grimes should be reviewed to determine when it's possible to plant maltese cross.


Planting Calendar for Maltese Cross

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

Maltese Cross do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant maltese cross in Grimes 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 maltese cross and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your maltese cross may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your maltese cross indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Grimes. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind 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 Grimes and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Grimes you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your maltese cross if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Grimes

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 Grimes

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Grimes.