One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Richmond you should be able to estimate when you can plant bok choi.

Planting Calendar for Bok Choi

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

Since bok choi are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant bok choi 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 bok choi and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your bok choi may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bok choi indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Richmond. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Richmond and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your bok choi if you have a 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.