One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

A way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant candytuft is to check out the USDA zone info for Mason City.

Planting Calendar for Candytuft

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

Candytuft do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant candytuft in Mason 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 candytuft and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your candytuft may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your candytuft indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mason City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mason City is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Mason City you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your candytuft in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mason City

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 Mason City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mason City.