One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The best time to plant melampodium in Santa Clarita can be estimated by looking at 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 you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Santa Clarita 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 really do well. Starting your melampodium indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Santa Clarita. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Clarita is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Clarita it frosts late in the year after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your melampodium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Clarita

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 Santa Clarita

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Clarita.