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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Mount Vernon it's a good idea to estimate when you can plant rhubarb.

Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

Rhubarb are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb in Mount Vernon 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your rhubarb may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your rhubarb indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Mount Vernon. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mount Vernon and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mount Vernon it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your rhubarb in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Vernon

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 Mount Vernon

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Vernon.