When to Plant Canna in Indianola, IA

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 reviewing the USDA zone info for Indianola it's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant canna.


Planting Calendar for Canna

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

Since canna are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant canna in Indianola 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 canna and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your canna may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your canna indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Indianola. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Indianola is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Indianola you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your canna if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Indianola

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 Indianola

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