Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Rochester you can figure out when you can plant banana by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Banana

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

You really shouldn't plant banana until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant banana in Rochester 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 banana and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your banana may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your banana indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Rochester is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rochester there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your banana in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rochester

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 Rochester

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