When to Plant Melampodium in Oskaloosa, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when to plant melampodium in Oskaloosa by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant melampodium
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant melampodium
Probably not a good time to plant melampodium

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Oskaloosa 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. Starting your melampodium indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Oskaloosa. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Oskaloosa is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Oskaloosa there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your melampodium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oskaloosa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Oskaloosa

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