When to Plant Calendula in Gardner, MA

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant calendula in Gardner by using 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 are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant calendula
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant calendula
Probably not a good time to plant calendula

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Gardner 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 fully mature. If you are starting your calendula indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Gardner is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Gardner you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your calendula in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gardner

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 Gardner

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