One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Charlottesville you should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant gladiolus.

Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

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

Gladiolus tend to make it in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Charlottesville 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 gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gladiolus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gladiolus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Charlottesville the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Charlottesville is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Charlottesville you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your gladiolus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlottesville

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 Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°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 Charlottesville

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