One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Rochester should be reffered to in order to determine when to plant hardy asters.

Planting Calendar for Hardy Asters

Frost tolerance for hardy asters:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Hardy Asters are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters 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 hardy asters and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your hardy asters may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your hardy asters indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Rochester. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in 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 will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rochester there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your hardy asters in the event of 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.