Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to determine when to plant tithonia by using the USDA zone info for Virginia.

Planting Calendar for Tithonia

Frost tolerance for tithonia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant tithonia until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tithonia 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 tithonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tithonia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tithonia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Virginia. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Virginia is an average 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 be sure to be ready to cover your tithonia if you have 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.