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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Virginia you should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant amaranthus.

Planting Calendar for Amaranthus

Frost tolerance for amaranthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since amaranthus require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The last month that you can plant amaranthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your amaranthus may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your amaranthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Virginia. You can expect an average low temperature of -35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Virginia may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Virginia last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your amaranthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Virginia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Virginia

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