Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Iowa City can be used to determine when it's the best time to plant lotus vine.

Planting Calendar for Lotus Vine

Frost tolerance for lotus vine:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since lotus vine are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lotus vine in Iowa City is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant lotus vine and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your lotus vine may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your lotus vine 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 Iowa City. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Iowa City and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Iowa City you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lotus vine in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.