Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant rhubarb is to use the USDA zone info for Richmond.

Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

Since rhubarb are moderately cold tolerant 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 rhubarb 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your rhubarb may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your rhubarb indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Richmond. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Richmond is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Richmond you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your rhubarb 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.