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.

The first chance to plant canna in Virginia should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Canna

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant canna until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant canna 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 canna and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your canna may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your canna indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Virginia. It might get as low as -35°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Virginia and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Virginia last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your canna 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.