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 should be able to determine when it's possible to plant petunias by looking at the USDA zone info for West Des Moines.

Planting Calendar for Petunias

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

Petunias can survive in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant petunias 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 petunias and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your petunias may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your petunias 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 just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in West Des Moines it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your petunias 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.