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When to Plant Chrysanthemum in San Francisco, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for San Francisco can be read to estimate when it's possible to plant chrysanthemum.


Planting Calendar for Chrysanthemum

Frost tolerance for chrysanthemum: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

Since chrysanthemum do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemum in San Francisco 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 chrysanthemum and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your chrysanthemum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your chrysanthemum indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in San Francisco. You can expect an average low temperature of 35°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 San Francisco and it is different every year. Half of the time in San Francisco it frosts late in the year after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your chrysanthemum in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Francisco

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low35°F
Highest Expected Low40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in San Francisco

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Francisco.