Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to determine when you can plant cardinal flower by reviewing the USDA zone info for Richmond.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since cardinal flower require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower 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 cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cardinal flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Richmond the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond it frosts late in the year after January 31 so always be ready to protect your cardinal flower if you have a late frost.

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.