When to Plant Marigold in Frankfort, IL

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

The USDA zone info for Frankfort should be reviewed 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 when the weather gets warmer.

You can not plant marigold until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant marigold
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant marigold
Probably not a good time to plant marigold

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Frankfort 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. Any later than that and your marigold may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your marigold indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Frankfort. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Frankfort is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Frankfort you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your marigold if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Frankfort

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Frankfort

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