One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when to plant chrysanthemum by looking at the USDA zone info for Smithfield.

Planting Calendar for Chrysanthemum

Frost tolerance for chrysanthemum:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's a bad idea to plant chrysanthemum until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemum in Smithfield is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant chrysanthemum and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chrysanthemum may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chrysanthemum indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Smithfield. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Smithfield is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Smithfield last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your chrysanthemum if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smithfield

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 Smithfield

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