One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when to plant marigold is to examine the USDA zone info for Malibu.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

Marigold do not do well in cold weather which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The last month that you can plant marigold and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your marigold may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your marigold indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Malibu the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You can expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Malibu and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Malibu last frost occurs after January 31 so be sure to be ready to protect your marigold in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Malibu

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Malibu

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