The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. 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 Fort Collins can be figured out by referring to 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.

Chrysanthemums are barely cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Fort Collins 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chrysanthemums may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chrysanthemums indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Fort Collins the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Collins is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Collins last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your chrysanthemums if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Collins

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Collins

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Collins.