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.

In Rochester you can estimate when to plant rhubarb by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

Frost tolerance for rhubarb:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Rhubarb are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your rhubarb may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your rhubarb indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Rochester. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Rochester is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rochester there is a last frost after May 15 so always be ready to protect your rhubarb 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.