When to Plant Sunflowers in Buffalo, NY

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Buffalo you should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant sunflowers.


Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

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

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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant sunflowers
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant sunflowers
Probably not a good time to plant sunflowers

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Buffalo 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your sunflowers indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Buffalo. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°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 Buffalo and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Buffalo you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your sunflowers if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Buffalo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Buffalo

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