When to Plant Chrysanthemums in Potsdam, NY

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 USDA zone info for Potsdam can be read to estimate when to plant chrysanthemums.


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.

Chrysanthemums do well in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Potsdam 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chrysanthemums indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Potsdam the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Potsdam is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Potsdam it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your chrysanthemums if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Potsdam

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 Potsdam

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