When to Plant Lettuce in Orange, VA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine 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.

The first opportunity to plant lettuce in Orange can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Lettuce

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

Since lettuce are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Orange 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 lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your lettuce may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Orange. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Orange is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Orange there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lettuce if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orange

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 Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°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 Orange

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