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

By checking out the USDA zone info for Rensselaer it's a good idea to figure out when to plant begonias.

Planting Calendar for Begonias

Frost tolerance for begonias:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant begonias until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant begonias in Rensselaer 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 begonias and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your begonias may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your begonias indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rensselaer. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rensselaer and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Rensselaer you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your begonias if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rensselaer

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 Rensselaer

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