One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

You can determine when you can plant chrysanthemums in Zone 9a by looking at 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.

Since chrysanthemums do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemums in Zone 9a is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant chrysanthemums and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your chrysanthemums may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chrysanthemums 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 February 15 in Zone 9a. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 9a may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 9a you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your chrysanthemums if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 9a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 9a.