The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. 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 can be reviewed to determine when to plant pentas.

Planting Calendar for Pentas

Frost tolerance for pentas:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's a bad idea to plant pentas until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Rochester. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rochester and it is different every year. Half of the time in Rochester last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your pentas if you have one of those late frosts.

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.