One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant celosia is to check out the USDA zone info for Richmond.

Planting Calendar for Celosia

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

Celosia require warm weather which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant celosia 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 celosia and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your celosia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your celosia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Richmond. It might get as low as 20°F during 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. Half of the time in Richmond it frosts late in the year after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your celosia 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.