One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when to plant melampodium is to consult the USDA zone info for Bradenton.

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 it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Bradenton 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. Any later than that and 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

In Bradenton the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bradenton is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Bradenton it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your melampodium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bradenton

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 Bradenton

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