One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when to plant romaine lettuce by reviewing the USDA zone info for Rochester.

Planting Calendar for Romaine lettuce

Frost tolerance for romaine lettuce:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since romaine lettuce are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant romaine lettuce 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 romaine lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your romaine lettuce may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your romaine lettuce indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Rochester. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Rochester is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Rochester you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your romaine lettuce 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.