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.

In Damascus you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant calendula by referring to 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 do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Damascus 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 fully mature. Starting your calendula indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Damascus. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Damascus is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Damascus you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your calendula in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Damascus

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Damascus

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