One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 opportunity to plant tarragon in West Des Moines should be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tarragon

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

Tarragon are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

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

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 will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in West Des Moines it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your tarragon if you have a 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.