One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The USDA zone info for Zion should be used to figure out when it's a good idea to plant calendula.

Planting Calendar for Calendula

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

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

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Zion 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. If you are starting your calendula indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zion the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zion is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Zion you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your calendula if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zion

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 Zion

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