One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant chrysanthemums in Estes Park should be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

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.

Since chrysanthemums are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Estes Park is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant chrysanthemums and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your chrysanthemums may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chrysanthemums indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Estes Park. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Estes Park is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Estes Park there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your chrysanthemums if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Estes Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Estes Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Estes Park.