When to Plant Scarlet Pimpernels in Big Stone Gap, VA

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to determine when it's possible to plant scarlet pimpernels by referring to the USDA zone info for Big Stone Gap.


Planting Calendar for Scarlet Pimpernels

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

Since scarlet pimpernels are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant scarlet pimpernels in Big Stone Gap 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 scarlet pimpernels and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your scarlet pimpernels may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your scarlet pimpernels indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Big Stone Gap. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Big Stone Gap and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Big Stone Gap you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your scarlet pimpernels if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Big Stone Gap

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

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

Plants to Grow in Big Stone Gap

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Stone Gap.