When to Plant Rhubarb in Essex Junction, VT

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

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant rhubarb in Essex Junction by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

Since rhubarb do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb in Essex Junction 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rhubarb may not have a chance to really do well. 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 May 15 in Essex Junction. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Essex Junction is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Essex Junction it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your rhubarb in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Essex Junction

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 Essex Junction

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Essex Junction.