One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 the best time to plant melampodium is to examine the USDA zone info for Sycamore.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

You can not plant melampodium until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Sycamore 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Sycamore the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Sycamore may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Sycamore you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your melampodium in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sycamore

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 Sycamore

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