One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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 possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant primula by referring to the USDA zone info for Schenectady.

Planting Calendar for Primula

Frost tolerance for primula:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Primula do well in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant primula in Schenectady is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant primula and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your primula may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your primula indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Schenectady. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Schenectady is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Schenectady it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your primula if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Schenectady

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 Schenectady

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