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When to Plant Asparagus Fern in West Des Moines, IA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant asparagus fern is to refer to the USDA zone info for West Des Moines.


Planting Calendar for Asparagus Fern

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

You really shouldn't plant asparagus fern until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant asparagus fern in West Des Moines 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 asparagus fern and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your asparagus fern may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your asparagus fern indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In West Des Moines 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.

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 West Des Moines and it changes from year to 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 asparagus fern 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.