When to Plant Tagetes in Lake Forest, CA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

The first opportunity to plant tagetes in Lake Forest should be estimated 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 are not cold tolerant which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant tagetes
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tagetes
Probably not a good time to plant tagetes

The earliest that you can plant tagetes in Lake Forest 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 tagetes and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your tagetes may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your tagetes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Lake Forest the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake Forest and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Lake Forest there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to protect your tagetes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Forest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Forest.