The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for West Des Moines should be reviewed to estimate when it's the best time to plant artichokes.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Artichokes are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes 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 artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your artichokes indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in West Des Moines. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Des Moines is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in West Des Moines you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your artichokes in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.