One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

A common way of estimating when it's the best time to plant calendula is to examine the USDA zone info for Hickory Hills.

Planting Calendar for Calendula

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

Calendula are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Hickory Hills 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. Any later than that and your calendula may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your calendula indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hickory Hills. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hickory Hills may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Hickory Hills you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your calendula if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hickory Hills

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 Hickory Hills

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Hickory Hills.