One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant marigold in Carlsbad by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

Frost tolerance for marigold:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Marigold require warm weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Carlsbad 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 grow to maturity. Starting your marigold indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Carlsbad. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Carlsbad and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Carlsbad you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your marigold in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Carlsbad

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 Carlsbad

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