One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Muscatine you can figure out when to plant schizanthus by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

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

Schizanthus are not cold tolerant which tells us that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant schizanthus 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 schizanthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your schizanthus may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your schizanthus 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. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Muscatine is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Muscatine you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your schizanthus in the event of a 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.