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 referring to the USDA zone info for South Lake Tahoe it's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant tagetes.

Planting Calendar for Tagetes

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

Since tagetes do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tagetes in South Lake Tahoe is April. However, you really should wait until May 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. Any later than that and your tagetes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your tagetes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in South Lake Tahoe. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for South Lake Tahoe may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in South Lake Tahoe you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your tagetes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Lake Tahoe

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in South Lake Tahoe

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