When to Plant Calendula in Lancaster, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Lancaster you can determine when you can plant calendula 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.

Calendula do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant calendula
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant calendula
Probably not a good time to plant calendula

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Lancaster 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 fully mature. If you are starting your calendula indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lancaster. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lancaster and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lancaster last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your calendula if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Lancaster

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