When to Plant Gladiolus in Norwalk, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when to plant gladiolus by referring to the USDA zone info for Norwalk.


Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

Frost tolerance for gladiolus: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gladiolus do well in very little cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant gladiolus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant gladiolus
Probably not a good time to plant gladiolus

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Norwalk is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gladiolus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your gladiolus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Norwalk the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Norwalk is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Norwalk you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your gladiolus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Norwalk

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 Norwalk

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