One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Rochester you will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant pincushion flower.

Planting Calendar for Pincushion Flower

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

Since pincushion flower do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pincushion flower 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 pincushion flower and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pincushion flower may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your pincushion flower indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Rochester is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Rochester you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your pincushion flower in the event of a 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.