When to Plant Tagetes in Zone 2a

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. 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 estimating when it's the best time to plant tagetes is to look at the USDA zone info for Zone 2a.


Planting Calendar for Tagetes

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

Tagetes are not cold tolerant which means that you really should wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
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A good time to plant tagetes
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tagetes
Probably not a good time to plant tagetes

The earliest that you can plant tagetes in Zone 2a 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. Any later than that and your tagetes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your tagetes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Zone 2a. It might get as low as -50°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 2a is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 2a there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your tagetes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 2a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)August 15
Lowest Expected Low-50°F
Highest Expected Low-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 2a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 2a.