One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant chrysanthemums is to check out the USDA zone info for Riverside.

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.

You can plant chrysanthemums a bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Riverside 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chrysanthemums may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your chrysanthemums indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Riverside the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Riverside may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Riverside last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your chrysanthemums in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Riverside

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 Riverside

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