Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant melampodium is to refer to the USDA zone info for Apple Valley.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

You really shouldn't plant melampodium until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Apple Valley 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 really do well. If you are starting your melampodium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Apple Valley the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Apple Valley is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Apple Valley you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your melampodium if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Apple Valley

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 Apple Valley

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Apple Valley.