Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Wilmington you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant marigold by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

You can not plant marigold until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Wilmington 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Wilmington. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Wilmington is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Wilmington you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your marigold in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmington

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 Wilmington

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