When to Plant Oleander 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when you can plant oleander by referring to the USDA zone info for Bristol.


Planting Calendar for Oleander

Frost tolerance for oleander: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

Oleander are not cold tolerant which means that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant oleander 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 oleander and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oleander may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your oleander indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

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.

Since the USDA zone info for Bristol is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Bristol you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your oleander 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.