One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The best time to plant lobelia in Rochester can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lobelia

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

You can plant lobelia quite a bit earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia 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 lobelia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lobelia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lobelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Rochester the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rochester may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rochester you get a frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your lobelia in the event of 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.