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 USDA zone info for Mason City can be used to estimate when it's the best time to plant scabiosa.

Planting Calendar for Scabiosa

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

Scabiosa do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant scabiosa 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 scabiosa and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your scabiosa may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your scabiosa indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mason City and it is different every year. Half of the time in Mason City last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your scabiosa 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.