Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Richmond you can determine when to plant columbine by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Columbine

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

Since columbine are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant columbine 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 columbine and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your columbine may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your columbine indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Richmond. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your columbine in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.