When to Plant Forget-Me-Not in West Des Moines, IA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when to plant forget-me-not in West Des Moines by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Forget-Me-Not

Frost tolerance for forget-me-not: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant forget-me-not just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant forget-me-not
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant forget-me-not
Probably not a good time to plant forget-me-not

The earliest that you can plant forget-me-not 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 forget-me-not and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your forget-me-not may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your forget-me-not indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In West Des Moines the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for West Des Moines and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in West Des Moines last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your forget-me-not 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.