USDA Hardiness Zone 5A spans a wide swath of the central United States (including much of Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Colorado's Front Range) with average annual minimum temperatures between -20°F and -15°F. Zone 5A has 115 frost-free days between a last spring frost of May 26 and first fall frost of Sep 18. This is a versatile zone: warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers have ample time to mature, and cool-season crops can be planted in both spring and fall for two distinct harvests. To find your USDA zone by zip code, use our free planting calendar. Browse individual plant guides for detailed growing instructions, or explore how USDA zones work to better understand your growing conditions.
Zone 5A Planting Guide
Last Spring Frost
May 26
First Fall Frost
Sep 18
Growing Season
115 days
Filterable list of 100 vegetables, herbs, and flowers for Zone 5A. Each crop links to its plant page for planting dates.
Browse all 100 Zone 5A plant guides →
Jump directly to the detailed growing guide for any plant in Zone 5A.
Vegetables
Herbs
Flowers
Growing guides for Zone 5A
Hand-picked posts from the GardeningByZone blog that apply to your zone.
Printable planting calendar and worksheet
Two PDFs for the Midwest region, to print at home.
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When to plant vegetables outdoors, state by state, from each state's own extension service. IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI · Zones 3a through 8a. Printable PDF.
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Lay out beds, plan crop rotation and record planting dates, with a crop reference for the Midwest region. Printable PDF.
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