One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 USDA zone info for Richmond should be looked at to determine when it's possible to plant strawflowers.

Planting Calendar for Strawflowers

Frost tolerance for strawflowers:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since strawflowers do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant strawflowers in Richmond is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant strawflowers and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your strawflowers may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your strawflowers indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Richmond is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your strawflowers if you have 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.