The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Yelm you can determine when it's a good idea to plant marigold by referring to 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.

You really shouldn't plant marigold until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Yelm 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your marigold indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Yelm. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Yelm and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Yelm last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your marigold in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Yelm

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Yelm

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