One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Lake Station you can figure out when it's the best time to plant marigold by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

Marigold are not cold tolerant which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Lake Station 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. If you wait any later than that and your marigold may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your marigold indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Lake Station may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lake Station there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your marigold if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Station

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 Lake Station

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Station.