One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

You can figure out when you can plant nemesia in Ottumwa by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nemesia

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

You should not plant nemesia 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 nemesia 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 nemesia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your nemesia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your nemesia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ottumwa. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ottumwa and it is different every year. Half of the time in Ottumwa there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your nemesia 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.