Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant painted tongues in Iowa City should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

Frost tolerance for painted tongues:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You can not plant painted tongues until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your painted tongues may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your painted tongues indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Iowa City. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Iowa City is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Iowa City there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your painted tongues 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.