One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when you can plant chrysanthemum is to look at the USDA zone info for Amherst.

Planting Calendar for Chrysanthemum

Frost tolerance for chrysanthemum:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant chrysanthemum until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemum in Amherst 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chrysanthemum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Amherst. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Amherst is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Amherst you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your chrysanthemum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Amherst

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 Amherst

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