One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when to plant painted tongues is to refer to the USDA zone info for Virginia.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

Frost tolerance for painted tongues:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since painted tongues are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your painted tongues may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your painted tongues indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Virginia is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Virginia it frosts late in the year after May 15 so always be ready to protect your painted tongues 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.