One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The first opportunity to plant trachelium in Ottumwa should be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Trachelium

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

You should not plant trachelium until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant trachelium 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 trachelium and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your trachelium may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your trachelium indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ottumwa and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ottumwa it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your trachelium 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.