Richmond, VA 23232 Frost Dates
23232, near Richmond, VA: the frost window
Around 04/03 is the usual last spring frost, about 218 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/04, roughly 215 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Richmond in Zone 7b (5 to 10°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
Richmond's growing season runs out in roughly 10 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 04/03 isn't a guarantee
04/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/19 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/18 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Richmond against the rest of the dataset
Richmond's growing season runs about 215 days, ranking 13,962 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within VA, it ranks 353 of 1,178.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 23232: the frost range, on how to read the range around Richmond's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates, on what one yard in Richmond can differ from the 23232 normal.