One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 checking out the USDA zone info for Machesney Park it's a good idea to estimate when you can plant chrysanthemums.

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 do well in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Machesney 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chrysanthemums indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Machesney Park. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Machesney Park is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Machesney Park you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your chrysanthemums in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Machesney Park

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 Machesney Park

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