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

One way of estimating when you can plant napa cabbage is to use the USDA zone info for Richmond.

Planting Calendar for Napa cabbage

Frost tolerance for napa cabbage:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Napa cabbage do well in cold which tells us that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant napa cabbage in Richmond 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 napa cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your napa cabbage may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your napa cabbage indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Richmond and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your napa cabbage in the event of 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.