Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Fairfax you can figure out when to plant chrysanthemums by reviewing 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 moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Fairfax 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. 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

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Fairfax. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Fairfax is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Fairfax you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your chrysanthemums if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairfax

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 Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°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 Fairfax

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