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

In Aurora 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 when the weather gets warmer.

Since marigold require warm weather you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Aurora 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your marigold indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Aurora the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Aurora and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Aurora you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your marigold if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Aurora

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Aurora

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