One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Hornell you can determine when it's possible to plant sunflowers by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

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

You should not plant sunflowers until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Hornell 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your sunflowers may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your sunflowers indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Hornell is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Hornell you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your sunflowers in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hornell

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 Hornell

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