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.

You will be able to estimate when to plant marigold by referring to the USDA zone info for South Elgin.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

Since marigold require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in South Elgin 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 really do well. If you are starting your marigold indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for South Elgin is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in South Elgin you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your marigold in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Elgin

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 South Elgin

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Elgin.