When to Plant Asparagus Fern in Manchester, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Manchester it's possible to figure out when to plant asparagus fern.


Planting Calendar for Asparagus Fern

Frost tolerance for asparagus fern: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably not a good idea to plant asparagus fern until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant asparagus fern in Manchester 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 asparagus fern and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your asparagus fern may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your asparagus fern indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Manchester. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Manchester may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Manchester you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your asparagus fern in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Manchester

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 Manchester

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