Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when to plant salpiglossis is to check out the USDA zone info for Melbourne.

Planting Calendar for Salpiglossis

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant salpiglossis until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Melbourne is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Melbourne there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your salpiglossis 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.