The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening 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 asters in Richmond should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Asters

Frost tolerance for asters:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant asters a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant asters 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your asters may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your asters indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Richmond the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Richmond is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Richmond you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your asters in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Richmond

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