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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Richmond you should be able to figure out when you can plant hamelia.

Planting Calendar for Hamelia

Frost tolerance for hamelia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant hamelia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant hamelia 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 hamelia and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your hamelia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your hamelia indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost 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 changes from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond last frost occurs after January 31 so always be ready to protect your hamelia 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.