When to Plant Clover in Johnston, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's possible to plant clover by looking at the USDA zone info for Johnston.

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Planting Calendar for Clover

Frost tolerance for clover: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since clover do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant clover
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant clover
Probably not a good time to plant clover

The earliest that you can plant clover in Johnston is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant clover and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your clover may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your clover indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Johnston the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Johnston is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Johnston you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your clover if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Johnston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Johnston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Johnston.