🌼 When to Plant Calendula

🌸 Flower
Cool Season

Cool-season flower; edible petals. Attracts beneficial insects

📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone

Select your zone to highlight your exact planting dates. Dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates.

Find my zone
Zone Last Frost Start Indoors Transplant Direct Sow
Zone 2A May 30 Apr 18 May 16 May 16
Zone 3B May 15 Apr 3 May 1 May 1
Zone 4A May 8 Mar 27 Apr 24 Apr 24
Zone 4B May 1 Mar 20 Apr 17 Apr 17
Zone 5A Apr 25 Mar 14 Apr 11 Apr 11
Zone 5B Apr 18 Mar 7 Apr 4 Apr 4
Zone 6A Apr 21 Mar 10 Apr 7 Apr 7
Zone 6B Apr 10 Feb 27 Mar 27 Mar 27
Zone 7A Apr 5 Feb 22 Mar 22 Mar 22
Zone 7B Mar 28 Feb 14 Mar 14 Mar 14
Zone 8A Mar 20 Feb 6 Mar 6 Mar 6
Zone 8B Mar 12 Jan 29 Feb 26 Feb 26
Zone 9A Feb 28 Jan 17 Feb 14 Feb 14
Zone 9B Feb 15 Jan 4 Feb 1 Feb 1
Zone 10A Feb 1 Dec 21 Jan 18 Jan 18
Zone 10B Jan 15 Dec 4 Jan 1 Jan 1
Zone 11A Jan 1 Nov 20 Dec 18 Dec 18

Calendula (pot marigold) is a cool-season flower with medicinal properties and cheerful blooms.

Top Growing Tips

  • Prefers cool weather — blooms best in spring and fall
  • Self-seeds prolifically — you’ll have it forever after one planting
  • Petals are edible — use as ‘poor man’s saffron’ in cooking
  • Attracts beneficial insects including hoverflies and lacewings
  • Used in herbal salves and skin care for centuries

Companion Planting

Good companions: tomatoes, asparagus, virtually everything

Avoid planting near: none — calendula is a universal garden friend

Harvest Timeline

Flowering in 45-60 days from seed; harvest when fully open