When to Plant Lavender in Potsdam, NY

One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Potsdam you should be able to determine when you can plant lavender.


Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

Lavender are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant lavender in Potsdam 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lavender may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lavender indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Potsdam the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Potsdam is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Potsdam it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your lavender if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Potsdam

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Potsdam

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