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.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant melampodium in Portage by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

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

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Portage 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your melampodium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Portage. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Portage is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Portage it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your melampodium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Portage

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