When to Plant Chrysanthemums in Charlottesville, VA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Charlottesville can be looked at to determine when it's possible to plant chrysanthemums.


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 tend to make it in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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 Charlottesville 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. Starting your chrysanthemums indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Charlottesville. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Charlottesville may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Charlottesville you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your chrysanthemums if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlottesville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

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

Plants to Grow in Charlottesville

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