When to Plant Bok Choi in Bristol, VA

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Bristol you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant bok choi by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Bok Choi

Frost tolerance for bok choi: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since bok choi are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant bok choi in Bristol 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 bok choi and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your bok choi may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your bok choi 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 Bristol. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bristol may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Bristol you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your bok choi if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bristol

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 Bristol

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