The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant caladium is to consult the USDA zone info for Norfolk.

Planting Calendar for Caladium

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant caladium until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Norfolk 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your caladium may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your caladium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Norfolk. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Norfolk is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Norfolk you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your caladium if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Norfolk

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 Norfolk

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