One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Mitchell it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant calendula.

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 moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Mitchell is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant calendula and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your calendula may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your calendula indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Mitchell the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mitchell is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Mitchell you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your calendula in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mitchell

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Mitchell

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