One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

You will be able to determine when it's the best time to plant tagetes by using the USDA zone info for Santa Clara.

Planting Calendar for Tagetes

Frost tolerance for tagetes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant tagetes until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tagetes in Santa Clara is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Santa Clara. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Clara is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Clara last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your tagetes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Clara

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 Santa Clara

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Clara.