The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant thyme is to examine the USDA zone info for West Des Moines.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

Frost tolerance for thyme:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since thyme do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant thyme 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 thyme and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your thyme may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your thyme indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in West Des Moines. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

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 you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your thyme in the event of 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.