One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when you can plant ajuga is to consult the USDA zone info for West Des Moines.

Planting Calendar for Ajuga

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

Since ajuga are very cold tolerant you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant ajuga in West Des Moines 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 ajuga and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your ajuga may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your ajuga indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in West Des Moines. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°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 West Des Moines and it is different every year. Half of the time in West Des Moines you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your ajuga in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Des Moines

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 West Des Moines

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Des Moines.