One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant coleus is to check out the USDA zone info for Rensselaer.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

Frost tolerance for coleus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since coleus do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant coleus 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 coleus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your coleus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your coleus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rensselaer the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

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