One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when it's the best time to plant tagetes in Richmond by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tagetes

Frost tolerance for tagetes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since tagetes are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The last month that you can plant tagetes and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tagetes may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your tagetes indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Richmond. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Richmond last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your tagetes in the event of a surprise 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.