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

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Storm Lake it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant armeria.

Planting Calendar for Armeria

Frost tolerance for armeria:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Armeria are very cold tolerant which means that you can plant them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant armeria in Storm Lake 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 armeria and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your armeria may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your armeria indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Storm Lake. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Storm Lake and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Storm Lake you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your armeria if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Storm Lake

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 Storm Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Storm Lake.