One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to determine when you can plant zucchini by using the USDA zone info for Rochester.

Planting Calendar for Zucchini

Frost tolerance for zucchini:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since zucchini require warm weather it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zucchini 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 zucchini and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your zucchini may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your zucchini indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Rochester is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Rochester you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your zucchini 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.