One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 painted tongues by referring to the USDA zone info for Melbourne.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

Frost tolerance for painted tongues:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since painted tongues are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues in Melbourne 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your painted tongues may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your painted tongues indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Melbourne. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Melbourne is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Melbourne it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your painted tongues if you have a 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.