The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant chrysanthemum is to use the USDA zone info for Lafayette.

Planting Calendar for Chrysanthemum

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

Since chrysanthemum do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Lafayette is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lafayette you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your chrysanthemum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lafayette

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 Lafayette

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