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

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant marigold is to consult the USDA zone info for Knoxville.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

Since marigold do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Knoxville 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 fully mature. If you are starting your marigold indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Knoxville. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Knoxville is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Knoxville there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your marigold in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Knoxville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Knoxville

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