When to Plant Lenten Rose in Spencer, IA

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 lenten rose in Spencer should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Lenten Rose

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

Since lenten rose are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant lenten rose in Spencer 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 lenten rose and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lenten rose may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lenten rose indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Spencer the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Spencer is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Spencer you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your lenten rose in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Spencer

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Spencer

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