The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Iowa City can be used to estimate when it's possible to plant oleander.

Planting Calendar for Oleander

Frost tolerance for oleander:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You really shouldn't plant oleander until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on 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 can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Iowa City last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your oleander if you have 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.