Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Rochester should be used to determine when it's the best time to plant lisianthus.

Planting Calendar for Lisianthus

Frost tolerance for lisianthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since lisianthus do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant lisianthus 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 lisianthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lisianthus may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your lisianthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rochester the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rochester and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Rochester last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your lisianthus 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.