One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Decorah you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant chrysanthemum.

Planting Calendar for Chrysanthemum

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

Since chrysanthemum require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemum in Decorah is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant chrysanthemum and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your chrysanthemum may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your chrysanthemum indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Decorah the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Decorah is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Decorah last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to protect your chrysanthemum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Decorah

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°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 -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Decorah

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