One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when to plant tagetes in Merrill by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tagetes

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

Since tagetes are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tagetes in Merrill is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant tagetes and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tagetes may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your tagetes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Merrill. You should expect an average low temperature of -30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Merrill is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Merrill it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your tagetes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Merrill

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Merrill

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