When to Plant Hosta in Norfolk, VA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Norfolk should be reffered to in order to figure out when to plant hosta.


Planting Calendar for Hosta

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

Hosta do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant hosta in Norfolk 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 hosta and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your hosta may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your hosta indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Norfolk. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Norfolk may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Norfolk there is a last frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your hosta in the event of a surprise late frost.

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 Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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.