One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 determining when it's a good idea to plant calendula is to consult the USDA zone info for Chapel Hill.

Planting Calendar for Calendula

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

Since calendula are moderately cold tolerant 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 Chapel Hill 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your calendula indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Chapel Hill the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Chapel Hill is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Chapel Hill there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your calendula if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chapel Hill

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Chapel Hill

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Chapel Hill.