One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Richmond you can figure out when it's possible to plant salpiglossis by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Salpiglossis

Frost tolerance for salpiglossis:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since salpiglossis do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant salpiglossis 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 salpiglossis and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your salpiglossis may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your salpiglossis indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is 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 changes from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond there is a last frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your salpiglossis 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.