When to Plant Broccoli in Dumfries, VA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 Dumfries you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant broccoli by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Broccoli

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

Since broccoli do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant broccoli in Dumfries 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 broccoli and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your broccoli may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your broccoli 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 Dumfries. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Dumfries may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Dumfries you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your broccoli if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dumfries

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Dumfries

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