One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

A common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant calendula is to examine the USDA zone info for Lake Dallas.

Planting Calendar for Calendula

Frost tolerance for calendula:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant calendula a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant calendula in Lake Dallas 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your calendula indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Lake Dallas the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Lake Dallas is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lake Dallas it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your calendula in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Dallas

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake Dallas

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Dallas.