The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Virginia should be figured out by referring to 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.

Columbine are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant columbine 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 columbine and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your columbine may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your columbine indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Virginia. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -35°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Virginia is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Virginia last frost occurs after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your columbine if you have a 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.