One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The first chance to plant lovage in Maquoketa should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lovage

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

Lovage are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lovage in Maquoketa 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 lovage and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your lovage may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lovage indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Maquoketa. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Maquoketa is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Maquoketa there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lovage if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Maquoketa

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 Maquoketa

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