When to Plant Four O' Clock in Rochester, NH

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can figure out when it's a good idea to plant four o' clock in Rochester by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Four O' Clock

Frost tolerance for four o' clock: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Four O' Clock do not do well in cold weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant four o' clock
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant four o' clock
Probably not a good time to plant four o' clock

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

Last Frost Date

In Rochester the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Rochester may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Rochester you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your four o' clock if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rochester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Rochester

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