One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Mercedes you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant calendula by referring to 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.

You can plant calendula a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

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

The last month that you can plant calendula and expect a good harvest is probably October. 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

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Mercedes. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mercedes is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Mercedes you get a frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your calendula if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mercedes

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Mercedes

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