The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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 getting a good idea when to plant napa cabbage is to examine the USDA zone info for Richmond.

Planting Calendar for Napa cabbage

Frost tolerance for napa cabbage:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Napa cabbage are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant napa cabbage 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 napa cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your napa cabbage may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your napa cabbage indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Richmond you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your napa cabbage in the event of 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.