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.

In Muscatine you can estimate when to plant polygonums by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Polygonums

Frost tolerance for polygonums:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You should not plant polygonums until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant polygonums in Muscatine 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 polygonums and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your polygonums may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your polygonums indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Muscatine is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Muscatine you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your polygonums in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Muscatine

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Muscatine

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Muscatine.