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.

A way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant asters is to examine the USDA zone info for Rockland.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

Since asters do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant asters in Rockland 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your asters may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your asters indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rockland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rockland and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rockland there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your asters if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rockland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Rockland

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