One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Waukee you can determine when you can plant calendula by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Calendula

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

Calendula do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Waukee 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. If you wait any later than that and your calendula may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your calendula indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Waukee. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Waukee and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Waukee there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your calendula if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Waukee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Waukee

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