The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant calendula is to refer to the USDA zone info for Chico.

Planting Calendar for Calendula

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

Calendula do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Chico is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant calendula and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your calendula may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your calendula indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Chico. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chico is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Chico you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your calendula if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chico

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 Chico

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