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.

The USDA zone info for West Des Moines should be used to determine when it's a good idea to plant polygonums.

Planting Calendar for Polygonums

Frost tolerance for polygonums:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You can not plant polygonums until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant polygonums 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 polygonums and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your polygonums may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your polygonums indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for West Des Moines may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in West Des Moines you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your polygonums 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.