The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. 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 Rensselaer can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's a good idea to plant marigold.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

Since marigold do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Rensselaer 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your marigold may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your marigold indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Rensselaer is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rensselaer you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your marigold in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rensselaer

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 Rensselaer

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