The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine 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.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant melampodium is to consult the USDA zone info for Elon.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant melampodium until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Elon 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. Any later than that and your melampodium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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 Elon. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Elon may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Elon you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your melampodium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Elon

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