When to Plant Eggplants in Pella, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Pella you can determine when you can plant eggplants by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Eggplants

Frost tolerance for eggplants: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

Since eggplants require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Pella. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember 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 Pella and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Pella you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your eggplants if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Pella

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 Pella

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