One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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 to plant lovage by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lovage

Frost tolerance for lovage:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Lovage are barely cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lovage 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 lovage and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lovage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your lovage indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Richmond there is a last frost after January 31 so always be ready to protect your lovage 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.