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.

One way of determining when to plant marigold is to look at the USDA zone info for Middleton.

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 Middleton 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your marigold may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your marigold indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Middleton. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Middleton is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Middleton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your marigold if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Middleton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Middleton

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