One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The USDA zone info for Rochester should be reffered to in order to estimate when it's the best time to plant lavender cotton.

Planting Calendar for Lavender Cotton

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

Lavender Cotton can survive in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lavender cotton in Rochester 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 lavender cotton and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lavender cotton may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lavender cotton indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Rochester 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 Rochester is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Rochester last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your lavender cotton if you have a surprise late frost.

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.