The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Mason City can be reffered to in order to determine when you can plant nicotiana.

Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

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

Nicotiana require warm weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana in Mason City 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 nicotiana and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your nicotiana may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your nicotiana indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Mason City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Mason City is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Mason City it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your nicotiana in the event of 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.