One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Frankfort it's a good idea to estimate when to plant melampodium.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

You can not plant melampodium until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Frankfort 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 melampodium and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your melampodium may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your melampodium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Frankfort. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Frankfort is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Frankfort you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your melampodium in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Frankfort

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Frankfort

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