When to Plant Roses in Zone 6a

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Zone 6a you can figure out when you can plant roses by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Roses

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

You can plant roses a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant roses in Zone 6a 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 roses and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your roses may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your roses indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Zone 6a. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 6a may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 6a last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your roses in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 6a

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 Zone 6a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 6a.