When to Plant Cucumbers in Fort Collins, CO

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant cucumbers in Fort Collins by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Cucumbers

Frost tolerance for cucumbers: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant cucumbers until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Collins is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Collins you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your cucumbers in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Collins

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Collins

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Collins.