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.

In Richmond you can estimate when it's the best time to plant flax by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Flax

Frost tolerance for flax:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since flax are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant flax in Richmond is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant flax and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your flax may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your flax indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Richmond the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Richmond there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to cover your flax in the event of a surprise 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.