One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Richmond it's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant flowering tobacco.

Planting Calendar for Flowering Tobacco

Frost tolerance for flowering tobacco:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's probably a bad idea to plant flowering tobacco until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant flowering tobacco 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 flowering tobacco and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your flowering tobacco may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your flowering tobacco indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Richmond and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond last frost occurs after January 31 so always be ready to cover your flowering tobacco in the event of 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.