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.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant garden mums by looking at the USDA zone info for Petaluma.

Planting Calendar for Garden Mums

Frost tolerance for garden mums:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Garden Mums are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant garden mums in Petaluma is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant garden mums and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your garden mums may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your garden mums indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Petaluma. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Petaluma and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Petaluma you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your garden mums in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Petaluma

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 Petaluma

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