One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant tagetes in Hickory can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tagetes

Frost tolerance for tagetes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since tagetes require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tagetes in Hickory is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Hickory. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Hickory and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Hickory last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your tagetes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hickory

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 Hickory

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