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.

In Potsdam you can figure out when to plant tagetes by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tagetes

Frost tolerance for tagetes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Tagetes require warm weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Potsdam. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Potsdam and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Potsdam it frosts late in the year after May 15 so always be ready to protect your tagetes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Potsdam

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Potsdam

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