One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 best time to plant cilantro in West Des Moines can be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cilantro

Frost tolerance for cilantro:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since cilantro are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant cilantro in West Des Moines is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cilantro and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cilantro may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cilantro indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in West Des Moines. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for West Des Moines is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in West Des Moines there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your cilantro 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.