Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

The USDA zone info for Newark can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's the best time to plant melampodium.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

Since melampodium are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Newark 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. 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

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Newark. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Newark is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Newark you get a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your melampodium in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Newark

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 Newark

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