One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 Geneva you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant marigold by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

Marigold require warm weather which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Geneva 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. 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 Geneva. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Geneva and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Geneva last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your marigold in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Geneva

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Geneva

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