Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Fairfield it's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant melampodium.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

You can not plant melampodium until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Fairfield is March. However, you really should wait until April 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. 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 February 15 in Fairfield. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Fairfield and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Fairfield you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your melampodium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairfield

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