One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In La Palma you can estimate when to plant melampodium by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

Since melampodium are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in La Palma 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. If you wait any later than that and your melampodium may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your melampodium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in La Palma. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for La Palma is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in La Palma it frosts late in the year after January 31 so always be ready to cover your melampodium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Palma

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in La Palma

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Palma.