One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant marigold is to refer to the USDA zone info for Starkville.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

It's not a good idea to plant marigold until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Starkville 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 fully mature. 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

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Starkville. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Starkville is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Starkville you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your marigold in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Starkville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Starkville

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