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.

In Virginia you can figure out when it's possible to plant nigella by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

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

You can plant nigella quite a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Virginia is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit 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 nigella in the event of 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.