One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A common way of making a decision about when to plant alternaria is to look at the USDA zone info for Richmond.

Planting Calendar for Alternaria

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

It's not a good idea to plant alternaria until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant alternaria in Richmond 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 alternaria and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your alternaria may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your alternaria indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Richmond. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Richmond you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your alternaria if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Richmond

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Richmond.