The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant chrysanthemums is to check out the USDA zone info for Monterey.

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 ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Monterey 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 chrysanthemums and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your chrysanthemums may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chrysanthemums indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Monterey. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Monterey is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Monterey it frosts late in the year after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to cover your chrysanthemums if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Monterey

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Monterey

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