One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Knoxville it's possible to determine when it's possible 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.

Calendula do ok in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Knoxville 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. If you wait any later than that and your calendula may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your calendula indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Knoxville. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Knoxville is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Knoxville you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your calendula in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Knoxville

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 Knoxville

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