One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Douglas you can estimate when it's the best time to plant marigold by checking out 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.

Since marigold are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Douglas 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your marigold indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Douglas is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Douglas you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your marigold in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Douglas

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 Douglas

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