One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

The first opportunity to plant rosemary in Erie should be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Rosemary

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

Since rosemary do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant rosemary in Erie 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 rosemary and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your rosemary may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your rosemary indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Erie. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Erie may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Erie you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your rosemary if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Erie

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Erie

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