One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Cherokee it's possible to figure out when it's possible to plant marigold.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant marigold until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Cherokee 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. 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 few weeks earlier by starting your marigold indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Cherokee may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Cherokee there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your marigold in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cherokee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Cherokee

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