Safe to Plant

Pak choi · Richmond, Virginia, United States

When to plant pak choi in Richmond

Main outdoor window

15-29 Mar

The window this page is built around.

Timed from last spring frost

29 March

In Richmond, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

24 Apr - 9 May

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Step by step in Richmond

Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.

Start indoors

1-15 Mar

Four weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.

Sow for autumn

7-28 Aug

Counting back 69 days from your first frost so the crop matures in time.

Sow direct

15-29 Mar

Two weeks before your last frost.

Plant out

22 Mar - 5 Apr

One week before your last frost.

Harvest

24 Apr - 9 May

Sow in succession. A single sowing gives you a single glut. Sow a short row every 14 days through the window above and you get a steady supply instead.
Frost tolerance
Half-hardy
Damaged below
-4°C (24.8°F)
Days to maturity
40–55
Min soil temp
10°C (50°F)
Spacing
20 cm
Sowing depth
12 mm (0.5 in)
Sun
Partial

Pak choi through the year

Against the frost risk in Richmond

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Pak choi

Frost risk Start indoors Autumn sowing Sow direct Plant out Harvest Today

Why these dates

The autumn sowing is the dependable one. Spring sowings bolt readily unless made very early or grown under cover.

Handles a few degrees of frost. A hard freeze destroys the succulent midribs.

Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Pak choi are timed from 4 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 1 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Richmond.

The median frost-free season here is 221 days, against 40 to 55 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for Richmond →

Nearby

Pak choi in places close by

Newport News 111 km Hampton 115 km East Hampton 115 km Norfolk 130 km Chesapeake 133 km Alexandria 144 km

Also in Richmond

Other vegetables to time

Tomatoes tender Lettuce half hardy Potatoes half hardy Courgettes tender Sweet peppers tender Carrots hardy Cucumbers tender Green beans tender Peas hardy Garlic very hardy Chilli peppers tender Sweetcorn tender

Growing pak choi in Richmond

When should I plant pak choi in Richmond?

Aim for 15-29 Mar in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 28 Mar - 11 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When will pak choi be ready to harvest in Richmond?

Expect to start picking around 24 Apr - 9 May, based on 40 to 55 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.

How much frost will pak choi tolerate?

Handles a few degrees of frost. A hard freeze destroys the succulent midribs.