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.

A common way of making a decision about when you can plant anchusa is to check out the USDA zone info for Virginia.

Planting Calendar for Anchusa

Frost tolerance for anchusa:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since anchusa are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The last month that you can plant anchusa and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your anchusa may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your anchusa indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Virginia is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Virginia it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your anchusa 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.