One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

A way of figuring out when it's possible to plant chrysanthemum is to look at the USDA zone info for Bethalto.

Planting Calendar for Chrysanthemum

Frost tolerance for chrysanthemum:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You really shouldn't plant chrysanthemum until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemum in Bethalto is April. However, you really should wait until May 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. Any later than that and your chrysanthemum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your chrysanthemum indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Bethalto. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bethalto and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Bethalto there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your chrysanthemum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bethalto

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Bethalto

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