When to Plant Chrysanthemums in Wilmington, NC

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 first chance to plant chrysanthemums in Wilmington should be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.


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 mild cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant chrysanthemums
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant chrysanthemums
Probably not a good time to plant chrysanthemums

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Wilmington 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. Any later than that and your chrysanthemums may not have a chance to really do well. 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

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Wilmington. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Wilmington is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Wilmington you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your chrysanthemums if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Wilmington

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