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 Alachua should be read to estimate when to plant marigold.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

Marigold do not do well in cold weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Alachua 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. If you wait any later than that and your marigold may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Alachua. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember 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 Alachua and it is different every year. Half of the time in Alachua you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your marigold in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alachua

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Alachua

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