One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 Novato should be reviewed to determine when it's possible 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 ok in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Novato 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chrysanthemums indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Novato the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Novato and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Novato there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your chrysanthemums in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Novato

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Novato

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