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.

The best time to plant sunflowers in Maquoketa can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

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

Since sunflowers are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Maquoketa 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your sunflowers indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Maquoketa 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.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Maquoketa may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Maquoketa you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your sunflowers in the event of 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.