One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The best time to plant chrysanthemum in Normal can be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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 you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemum in Normal 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 really do well. Starting your chrysanthemum indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Normal. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Normal is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Normal you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your chrysanthemum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Normal

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 Normal

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