When to Plant Tagetes in Shenandoah, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Shenandoah 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 require warm weather it is important to wait until 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 Shenandoah 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. If you wait any later than that and your tagetes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tagetes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Shenandoah. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Shenandoah is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Shenandoah there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your tagetes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shenandoah

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Shenandoah

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