When to Plant Leeks in Rochester, MN

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

The first opportunity to plant leeks in Rochester can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Leeks

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

You can plant leeks quite a bit earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Rochester is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant leeks and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your leeks may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your leeks indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Rochester. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rochester is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Rochester you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so just be sure to 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 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.