The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Richmond should be looked at to determine when it's the best time to plant astilbe.

Planting Calendar for Astilbe

Frost tolerance for astilbe:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Astilbe can survive in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Richmond 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 astilbe and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your astilbe may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your astilbe indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Richmond. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Richmond and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond you get a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your astilbe in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Richmond

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