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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Poughkeepsie you should be able to determine when to plant sunflowers.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

Frost tolerance for sunflowers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant sunflowers until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers in Poughkeepsie 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. If you wait any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your sunflowers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Poughkeepsie. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Poughkeepsie and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Poughkeepsie there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your sunflowers if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Poughkeepsie

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 Poughkeepsie

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