When to Plant Caladium in Bristol, VA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant caladium in Bristol can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Caladium

Frost tolerance for caladium: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

It's a bad idea to plant caladium until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Bristol is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant caladium and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your caladium may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your caladium indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Bristol the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Bristol may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Bristol last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your caladium in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.