Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Lancaster can be looked at to determine when it's possible to plant marigold.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

Frost tolerance for marigold:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since marigold are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Lancaster 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 marigold and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your marigold may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your marigold indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Lancaster the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lancaster and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lancaster it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your marigold in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Lancaster

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