When to Plant Sweet Potatos in Petersburg, VA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant sweet potatos in Petersburg should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Sweet Potatos

Frost tolerance for sweet potatos: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since sweet potatos are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Petersburg is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Petersburg you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your sweet potatos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Petersburg

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 Petersburg

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