One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 first opportunity to plant scabiosa in Melbourne should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Scabiosa

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

Since scabiosa are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant scabiosa 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 scabiosa and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your scabiosa may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your scabiosa indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Melbourne is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Melbourne it frosts late in the year after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your scabiosa 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.