One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant impatiens in Richmond can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Impatiens

Frost tolerance for impatiens:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since impatiens do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant impatiens 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 impatiens and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your impatiens may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your impatiens indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Richmond. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Richmond and it is different every year. Half of the time in Richmond you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your impatiens in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.