🏵️ When to Plant Marigolds

The classic vegetable-garden companion. Pick your zone below for exact dates, or read the quick reference.

Season type
Warm-season
tender
Spacing
8″ / 12″
plants / rows
Days to maturity
50–60
from sowing

Cheap, fast, and nearly foolproof from direct-sown seed. Deadhead spent blooms weekly and they flower until frost. French marigolds are the compact ones for bed edges.

Marigolds planting windows by zone

ZoneMain planting window
Zone 1 Jun 22 – Jun 29 transplant outdoors
Zone 2 Jun 6 – Jun 13 transplant outdoors
Zone 3 May 22 – May 29 transplant outdoors
Zone 4 May 12 – May 19 transplant outdoors
Zone 5 Apr 29 – May 6 transplant outdoors
Zone 6 Apr 17 – Apr 24 transplant outdoors
Zone 7 Apr 6 – Apr 13 transplant outdoors
Zone 8 Mar 22 – Mar 29 transplant outdoors
Zone 9 Feb 27 – Mar 6 transplant outdoors
Zone 10 Feb 1 – Feb 8 transplant outdoors
Zone 11 Nearly year-round frost-free
Zone 12 Nearly year-round frost-free
Zone 13 Nearly year-round frost-free

Each zone link above has the complete schedule — indoor seed-starting, direct sowing, and season-fit notes. Zone dates are typical medians; for windows built on your own city's frost dates, use the frost date lookup and planting calendar.