The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when to plant marigold is to consult the USDA zone info for Ocala.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

You should not plant marigold until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Ocala 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Ocala. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ocala is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ocala there is a last frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your marigold in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ocala

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Ocala

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