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.

A common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant ruby grass is to use the USDA zone info for Richmond.

Planting Calendar for Ruby Grass

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

Since ruby grass do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Richmond is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant ruby grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your ruby grass may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your ruby grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Richmond the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Richmond and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Richmond you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your ruby grass if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Richmond

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Richmond.