One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant fanflower is to examine the USDA zone info for Ottumwa.

Planting Calendar for Fanflower

Frost tolerance for fanflower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since fanflower do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant fanflower in Ottumwa 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 fanflower and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your fanflower may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your fanflower indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Ottumwa. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ottumwa may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ottumwa there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your fanflower if you have 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.