One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 USDA zone info for Venice can be reffered to in order to estimate 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.

Since melampodium do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Venice is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in Venice. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Venice and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Venice there is a last frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your melampodium if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Venice

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Venice

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