One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

You can figure out when it's a good idea to plant calendula in Carlsbad by looking at 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.

Since calendula are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Carlsbad 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your calendula may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your calendula indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Carlsbad the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Carlsbad and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Carlsbad it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your calendula if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Carlsbad

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Carlsbad

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