One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 looking at the USDA zone info for Loudon it's possible to figure out when you can 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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Loudon 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 grow to maturity. Starting your calendula indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Loudon the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Loudon is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Loudon it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your calendula in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Loudon

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 Loudon

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