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.

A way of determining when it's possible to plant marigold is to refer to the USDA zone info for Saratoga.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant marigold until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Saratoga 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. Any later than that and your marigold may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your marigold indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Saratoga. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Saratoga and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Saratoga there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your marigold in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Saratoga

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 Saratoga

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