One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant iresene in Virginia can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Iresene

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

Since iresene require warm weather you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant iresene 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 iresene and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your iresene may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your iresene indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is 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 just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Virginia you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your iresene 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.