One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 USDA zone info for Melbourne should be reffered to in order to figure out when it's possible to plant maltese cross.

Planting Calendar for Maltese Cross

Frost tolerance for maltese cross:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Maltese Cross do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant maltese cross in Melbourne is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant maltese cross and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your maltese cross may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your maltese cross indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Melbourne. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Melbourne may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Melbourne you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your maltese cross if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Melbourne

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 Melbourne

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