The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant calendula in Portales can be figured out 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.

You can plant calendula just a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Portales 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your calendula indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Portales. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Portales and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Portales you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your calendula if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portales

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Portales

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