One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 determine when to plant tithonia by referring to the USDA zone info for Rochester.

Planting Calendar for Tithonia

Frost tolerance for tithonia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You should not plant tithonia until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant tithonia 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 tithonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tithonia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your tithonia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Rochester. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rochester may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Rochester you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your tithonia in the event of 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.