Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. 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 possible to plant leeks.

Planting Calendar for Leeks

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

Leeks are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant leeks 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 leeks and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your leeks may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your leeks indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rochester. It might get as low as -10°F during 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 it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your leeks in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rochester

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 Rochester

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