One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

One way of figuring out when it's possible to plant chrysanthemums is to refer to the USDA zone info for Marion.

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 do ok in moderate cold you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Marion 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 fully mature. Starting your chrysanthemums indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Marion the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Marion is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Marion it frosts late in the year after March 15 so always be ready to protect your chrysanthemums if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marion

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 Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 Marion

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