One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant chrysanthemums is to use the USDA zone info for Chester.

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.

Since chrysanthemums are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Chester 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chrysanthemums indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Chester the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Chester may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Chester you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your chrysanthemums in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Chester

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