Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Rio Vista you can determine when it's the best time to plant garden mums by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Garden Mums

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

Since garden mums are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant garden mums in Rio Vista 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. If you wait any later than that and your garden mums may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your garden mums indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Rio Vista. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rio Vista and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Rio Vista you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your garden mums if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rio Vista

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 Rio Vista

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rio Vista.