When to Plant Melampodium in Downers Grove, IL

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

In Downers Grove you can figure out when it's the best time to plant melampodium by using 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 really shouldn't plant melampodium until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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 Downers Grove 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 really do well. Starting your melampodium indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Downers Grove. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Downers Grove is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Downers Grove there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your melampodium in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Downers Grove

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 Downers Grove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Downers Grove.