When to Plant Daylily in Iowa City, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Iowa City you will be able to estimate when to plant daylily.


Planting Calendar for Daylily

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

Since daylily are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant daylily 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 daylily and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your daylily may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your daylily indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Iowa City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Iowa City is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Iowa City there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your daylily in the event of a 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.