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 first chance to plant melampodium in New Castle should be determined 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.

Melampodium require warm weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in New Castle is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant melampodium and expect a good harvest is probably August. 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In New Castle the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for New Castle is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in New Castle you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your melampodium in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Castle

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in New Castle

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Castle.