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 first opportunity to plant trachelium in Iowa City should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Trachelium

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

Trachelium are not cold tolerant which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant trachelium 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 trachelium and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your trachelium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your trachelium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Iowa City and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Iowa City it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your trachelium if you have 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.