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

It's possible to determine when you can plant melampodium by using the USDA zone info for San Francisco.

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 you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in San Francisco 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 fully mature. Starting your melampodium indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in San Francisco. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for San Francisco and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in San Francisco there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your melampodium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Francisco

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 San Francisco

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Francisco.