One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when it's possible to plant melampodium is to consult the USDA zone info for Homer Glen.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

Since melampodium require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Homer Glen 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your melampodium indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Homer Glen. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Homer Glen is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Homer Glen there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your melampodium if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Homer Glen

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 Homer Glen

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Homer Glen.