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

You will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant marigold by looking at the USDA zone info for Childress.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

You can not plant marigold until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Childress 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 really do well. Starting your marigold indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Childress. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Childress may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Childress last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your marigold if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Childress

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

Plants to Grow in Childress

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