One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant melampodium in Channahon should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

You can not plant melampodium until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Channahon 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. Any later than that and 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 Channahon. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Channahon is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Channahon there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your melampodium in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Channahon

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 Channahon

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