The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to determine when to plant ruby grass by looking at the USDA zone info for West Des Moines.

Planting Calendar for Ruby Grass

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

Ruby Grass do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass 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 ruby grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your ruby grass may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your ruby grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in West Des Moines. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure 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 can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in West Des Moines last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your ruby grass if you have 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.