One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 best time to plant garden mums in Big Bear Lake should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Garden Mums

Frost tolerance for garden mums:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Garden Mums tend to make it in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant garden mums in Big Bear Lake 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 garden mums and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your garden mums may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your garden mums indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Big Bear Lake. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Big Bear Lake may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Big Bear Lake there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your garden mums if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Big Bear Lake

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 Big Bear Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Bear Lake.