The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine 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 estimating when to plant chrysanthemums is to use the USDA zone info for Santa Clara.

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 plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Santa Clara 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chrysanthemums indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Santa Clara. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind 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 Santa Clara and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Clara you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your chrysanthemums if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Clara

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 Santa Clara

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Clara.