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.

In Matthews you can determine when you can plant calendula by checking out 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 do ok in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Matthews 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. Starting your calendula indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Matthews is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Matthews it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your calendula in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Matthews

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 Matthews

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