Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Richmond should be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

Frost tolerance for nigella:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Nigella are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant nigella 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 nigella and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your nigella may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your nigella indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Richmond and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Richmond it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to protect your nigella if you have 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.