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 first chance to plant spearmint in Richmond should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Spearmint

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

Spearmint do well in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant spearmint 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 spearmint and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your spearmint may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your spearmint 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 can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Richmond may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond it frosts late in the year after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to cover your spearmint if you have 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.