One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

One way of determining when to plant chrysanthemums is to consult the USDA zone info for Prior Lake.

Planting Calendar for Chrysanthemums

Frost tolerance for chrysanthemums:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since chrysanthemums are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Prior Lake 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 chrysanthemums and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chrysanthemums may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your chrysanthemums 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 May 15 in Prior Lake. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Prior Lake is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Prior Lake you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your chrysanthemums if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Prior Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Prior Lake

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