One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Rochester can be looked at to figure out when it's a good idea to plant pincushion flower.

Planting Calendar for Pincushion Flower

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

Pincushion Flower are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pincushion flower in Rochester is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pincushion flower and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pincushion flower may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your pincushion flower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just 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 it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your pincushion flower if you have a 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.