One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The best time to plant periwinkles in Richmond can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Periwinkles

Frost tolerance for periwinkles:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant periwinkles until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

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

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