One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's possible to plant chrysanthemums is to examine the USDA zone info for Lakeland.

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 do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Lakeland 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 little bit earlier by starting your chrysanthemums indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Lakeland the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lakeland and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lakeland you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your chrysanthemums if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lakeland

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 Lakeland

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lakeland.