When to sow stonecrops in Queens

Why these dates

Plant out in spring after the last frost, in full sun and unimproved soil - rich ground makes it grow soft and flop. Leave the dried heads standing all winter; they hold snow and frost better than almost anything else in the garden.

Hardy to -30C. The succulent leaves take frost without damage. Overfeeding and shade cause more failures than cold ever does.

Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Stonecrops are timed with planting out 2 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Queens.

Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Queens is zone 8a, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.

Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 1, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.

See every crop timed for Queens →