When to Plant Liatris in Bedford, VA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Bedford you should be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant liatris.


Planting Calendar for Liatris

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

Liatris are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant liatris
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant liatris
Probably not a good time to plant liatris

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bedford. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bedford and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Bedford last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your liatris if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bedford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Bedford

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Bedford.