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.

The best time to plant chrysanthemum in Mercer Island should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chrysanthemum

Frost tolerance for chrysanthemum:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant chrysanthemum until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemum in Mercer Island 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. Any later than that and your chrysanthemum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your chrysanthemum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mercer Island the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mercer Island and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mercer Island it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your chrysanthemum in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mercer Island

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Mercer Island

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mercer Island.