One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant firebush in Richmond should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

Since firebush are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant firebush 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 firebush and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your firebush may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your firebush indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Richmond. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your firebush if you have 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.