One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Rochester you should be able to estimate when to plant four-o-clock flower.

Planting Calendar for Four-o-clock flower

Frost tolerance for four-o-clock flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Four-o-clock flower require warm weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant four-o-clock flower in Rochester is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant four-o-clock flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your four-o-clock flower may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your four-o-clock flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Rochester. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind 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 May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your four-o-clock flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rochester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Rochester

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