The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when you can plant artichokes is to consult the USDA zone info for Richmond.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Since artichokes are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Richmond is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your artichokes may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Richmond the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Richmond is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Richmond last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your artichokes if you have a 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.