One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Richmond you should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant coleus.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

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

Since coleus do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant coleus in Richmond 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 coleus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your coleus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your coleus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Richmond the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Richmond may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your coleus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

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 Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°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 Richmond

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