When to Plant Four-o-clock flower in Independence, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant four-o-clock flower in Independence by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Four-o-clock flower

Frost tolerance for four-o-clock flower: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Four-o-clock flower require warm weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant four-o-clock flower
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant four-o-clock flower
Probably not a good time to plant four-o-clock flower

The earliest that you can plant four-o-clock flower in Independence 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 four-o-clock flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your four-o-clock flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your four-o-clock flower 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 Independence. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Independence and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Independence you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your four-o-clock flower if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

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 Independence

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