The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Cottonwood should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

It's a bad idea to plant melampodium until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Cottonwood 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. Starting your melampodium indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Cottonwood may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Cottonwood you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your melampodium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cottonwood

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Cottonwood

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