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When to Plant Petunias in East Rochester, NY

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.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant petunias by using the USDA zone info for East Rochester.


Planting Calendar for Petunias

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

Since petunias are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant petunias in East 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 petunias and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your petunias may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your petunias indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In East 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 -5°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for East Rochester and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in East Rochester there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your petunias if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for East Rochester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in East Rochester

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Rochester.