When to Plant Rhubarb in Fairbanks, AK

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Fairbanks can be read to figure out when you can plant rhubarb.


Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

Frost tolerance for rhubarb: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Rhubarb do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant rhubarb
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant rhubarb
Probably not a good time to plant rhubarb

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Fairbanks. You should expect an average low temperature of -50°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Fairbanks is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Fairbanks there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your rhubarb in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairbanks

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)August 15
Lowest Expected Low-50°F
Highest Expected Low-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairbanks

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fairbanks.