One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The best time to plant aubrieta in Ottumwa should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Aubrieta

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

Aubrieta are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant aubrieta in Ottumwa 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 aubrieta and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your aubrieta may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your aubrieta indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Ottumwa. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

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

USDA Zone Info for Ottumwa

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 Ottumwa

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