When to Plant Chrysanthemums in Erie, PA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant chrysanthemums in Erie 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 ok in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender 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 Erie 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. If you wait any later than that and 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Erie the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Erie is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Erie there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your chrysanthemums in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Erie

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Erie

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