When to Plant Chrysanthemum in Wilmington, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Wilmington can be read to estimate when it's a good idea to plant chrysanthemum.

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Planting Calendar for Chrysanthemum

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

It's a bad idea to plant chrysanthemum until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant chrysanthemum
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant chrysanthemum
Probably not a good time to plant chrysanthemum

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemum in Wilmington 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 chrysanthemum and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chrysanthemum may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your chrysanthemum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Wilmington may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Wilmington you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your chrysanthemum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Wilmington

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Wilmington.