Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

The USDA zone info for Orange City can be read to figure out when you can plant melampodium.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

Frost tolerance for melampodium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably not a good idea to plant melampodium until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Orange City 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. If you are starting your melampodium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Orange City. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Orange City is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Orange City you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your melampodium in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orange City

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 Orange City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Orange City.