One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The earliest that you can plant basket of gold in Iowa City should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basket of Gold

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

Basket of Gold do ok in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant basket of gold in Iowa City 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 basket of gold and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your basket of gold may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your basket of gold indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Iowa City. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Iowa City is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Iowa City it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your basket of gold if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Iowa City

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 Iowa City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Iowa City.