When to Plant Zucchini in Rochester, MI

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant zucchini in Rochester should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Zucchini

Frost tolerance for zucchini: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Zucchini are not cold tolerant which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant zucchini
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant zucchini
Probably not a good time to plant zucchini

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 few weeks earlier by starting your zucchini indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Rochester. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rochester and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rochester you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your zucchini if you have a surprise 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.