One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The best time to plant tagetes in Zone 8a should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tagetes

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

Since tagetes require warm weather you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tagetes in Zone 8a 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. Any later than that and your tagetes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your tagetes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Zone 8a. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 8a may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 8a you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your tagetes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 8a

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 Zone 8a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 8a.