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

The first chance to plant erysimum in West Des Moines should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Erysimum

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

Erysimum are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant erysimum 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 erysimum and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your erysimum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your erysimum indoors.

Last Frost Date

In West Des Moines the average date of last frost happens on April 15. 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 not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in West Des Moines you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your erysimum 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.