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

The USDA zone info for Rensselaer should be reffered to in order to figure out when it's the best time to plant hosta.

Planting Calendar for Hosta

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

Hosta can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant hosta in Rensselaer 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 hosta and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hosta may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your hosta indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Rensselaer is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Rensselaer you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your hosta if you have one of those late frosts.

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.