When to Plant Marigold in Ephrata, PA

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 Ephrata you can determine when you can 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 when the weather gets warmer.

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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant marigold
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant marigold
Probably not a good time to plant marigold

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Ephrata 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 really do well. Starting your marigold indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ephrata. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ephrata and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Ephrata it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your marigold in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ephrata

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 Low0°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 Ephrata

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