One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant marigold is to refer to the USDA zone info for Lynchburg.

Planting Calendar for Marigold

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

Since marigold require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Lynchburg 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your marigold indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Lynchburg. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lynchburg and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lynchburg last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your marigold if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lynchburg

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 Lynchburg

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