One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 festuca in Mason City can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Festuca

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

Festuca do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant festuca 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 festuca and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your festuca may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your festuca indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mason City 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 Mason City is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mason City it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your festuca if you have one of those late frosts.

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.