One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The first chance to plant liatris in Rensselaer should be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Liatris

Frost tolerance for liatris:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Liatris are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Rensselaer is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rensselaer there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your liatris 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.