When to Plant Marigold in Prospect Heights, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when to plant marigold is to check out the USDA zone info for Prospect Heights.


Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

Marigold do not do well in cold weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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 Prospect Heights 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your marigold indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Prospect Heights. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Prospect Heights is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Prospect Heights you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your marigold in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Prospect Heights

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 Prospect Heights

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Prospect Heights.