Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant roses by using the USDA zone info for Altoona.

Planting Calendar for Roses

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

You can plant roses a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant roses in Altoona 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 roses and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your roses may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your roses indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Altoona. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Altoona may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Altoona there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your roses in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

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 Altoona

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