One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Richmond you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant fuchsia by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Fuchsia

Frost tolerance for fuchsia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Fuchsia are not cold tolerant which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant fuchsia 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 fuchsia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your fuchsia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your fuchsia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Richmond. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Richmond you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your fuchsia 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.