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.

The USDA zone info for Iowa City should be used to estimate when it's the best time to plant vinca vine.

Planting Calendar for Vinca Vine

Frost tolerance for vinca vine:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Vinca Vine can survive in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Iowa City. 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 may not be accurate from year to year 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 there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your vinca vine 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.