One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Virginia it's a good idea to estimate when to plant matricaria.

Planting Calendar for Matricaria

Frost tolerance for matricaria:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Matricaria do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant matricaria 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 matricaria and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your matricaria may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your matricaria indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Virginia is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Virginia you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your matricaria 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.