One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

A way of estimating when you can plant melampodium is to examine the USDA zone info for Gilberts.

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 require warm weather it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Gilberts 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. If you wait any later than that and your melampodium may not have a chance to really do well. 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

In Gilberts the average date of last frost happens on April 15. 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 Gilberts is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Gilberts you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your melampodium in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gilberts

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 Gilberts

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