The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Orange Cove should be read to figure out when it's possible 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.

Melampodium are not cold tolerant which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Orange Cove 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. If you wait 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Orange Cove. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Orange Cove and it is different every year. Half of the time in Orange Cove there is a last frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your melampodium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orange Cove

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 Orange Cove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Orange Cove.