One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A common way of estimating when to plant calendula is to use the USDA zone info for Lake City.

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 tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Lake City is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant calendula and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your calendula may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your calendula indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Lake City. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lake City is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lake City there is a last frost after May 15 so always be ready to cover your calendula in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake City.