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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Richmond it's possible to estimate when it's possible to plant lunaria.

Planting Calendar for Lunaria

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

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

The earliest that you can plant lunaria 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 lunaria and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your lunaria may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your lunaria indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Richmond. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Richmond there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your lunaria in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.