Growing Roses in Massachusetts: Planting Dates, Varieties and Local Pests
Roses go into Massachusetts ground in spring, as soon as the soil is workable.
Massachusetts
For homeowners and renters in Massachusetts: the planting calendar, the maintenance schedule and the local programs worth knowing about.
Gardening in Massachusetts
Everything we have worked out for Massachusetts: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Boston, the last spring freeze runs April 1 to April 8 and the first fall freeze runs November 3 to November 14, USDA zones 5a-7b, 3,084 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 21.8 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Massachusetts: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
Growing Hydrangeas in Massachusetts: Types, Colour and Winter
Plant hydrangeas in Massachusetts in spring after the last freeze or in early fall, and choose panicle or smooth types if you want dependable blooms…
When Sweet Corn Is Ready in Massachusetts, and How Fast It Fades
Sweet corn is ready roughly 60 to 90 days after planting, and planting has to wait for warm soil, not a calendar date.
When to Aerate a Lawn in Massachusetts
Aerate a Massachusetts lawn in fall, while the grass is still growing and well before the first freeze.
What Eats Beet in Massachusetts, and When
In Massachusetts, a beet crop is mostly eaten by thirst and heat, not by anything with a mouth.
How Late Can You Plant Trees and Shrubs in Fall in Massachusetts?
The conservative deadline for planting trees and shrubs in Massachusetts is September 22 to October 3, which is six weeks before the first fall frost.
When to Pull Carrots in Massachusetts, and How to Keep Them
Pull carrots when the tops are full, the shoulders at the soil line have turned deep orange, and roughly 70 to 100 days have passed since the seed went…
Hedge Plants for Massachusetts: What Holds, and What Only Looks Hardy
Ten of the twelve hedge species documented on this site hold across all of Massachusetts, from the Berkshires to the coast.
How High Can a Hedge Be in Massachusetts? What the Law Actually Says
Search “hedge height law Massachusetts” and you’ll find pages quoting a single number for the whole state. None of them are right.
What Eats Pepper in Massachusetts, and When
The facts documented for this page don’t include a species-by-species pest survey for Massachusetts pepper growers.