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.

In Chesapeake you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant fuchsia by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Fuchsia

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant fuchsia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant fuchsia in Chesapeake 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 fuchsia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your fuchsia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your fuchsia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Chesapeake. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Chesapeake and it is different every year. Half of the time in Chesapeake there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your fuchsia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chesapeake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Chesapeake

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