One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant saxifraga by looking at the USDA zone info for Rensselaer.

Planting Calendar for Saxifraga

Frost tolerance for saxifraga:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant saxifraga slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant saxifraga in Rensselaer is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant saxifraga and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your saxifraga may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your saxifraga indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Rensselaer is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rensselaer it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your saxifraga 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.