The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when to plant melampodium is to consult the USDA zone info for Tifton.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

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

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Tifton is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant melampodium and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your melampodium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your melampodium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Tifton. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Tifton is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Tifton you get a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your melampodium if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tifton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Tifton

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