The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. 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 marigold in Santa Maria can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

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 Santa Maria is March. However, you really should wait until April 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. If you wait any later than that and your marigold may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your marigold indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Maria the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Santa Maria may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Maria it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your marigold in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Maria

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Maria

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