One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Encinitas can be estimated by checking out 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.

You can not plant melampodium until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Encinitas is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant melampodium and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your melampodium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your melampodium indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Encinitas. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Encinitas is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Encinitas last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to cover your melampodium in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Encinitas

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Encinitas

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