The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Melrose Park you should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant gomphrena.

Planting Calendar for Gomphrena

Frost tolerance for gomphrena:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant gomphrena slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant gomphrena in Melrose Park is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant gomphrena and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gomphrena may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your gomphrena indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Melrose Park. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Melrose Park may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Melrose Park it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your gomphrena if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Melrose Park

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 Melrose Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Melrose Park.