One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By using the USDA zone info for National City you should be able to determine when to plant melampodium.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

Melampodium require warm weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in National City 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your melampodium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in National City. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for National City is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in National City you get a frost after January 31 so always be ready to protect your melampodium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for National City

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 National City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for National City.