One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant schizanthus in Iowa City by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

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

You should not plant schizanthus until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

In Iowa City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Iowa City is an average and 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 protect your schizanthus 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.