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

By checking out the USDA zone info for El Dorado it's possible to determine when to plant calendula.

Planting Calendar for Calendula

Frost tolerance for calendula:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Calendula tend to make it in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in El Dorado 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 calendula and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your calendula may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your calendula indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in El Dorado. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for El Dorado may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in El Dorado last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your calendula in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for El Dorado

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 El Dorado

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Dorado.