Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Butler can be used to determine when it's the best time to plant melampodium.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant melampodium until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Butler 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 fully mature. 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

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

Since the USDA zone info for Butler is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Butler you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your melampodium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Butler

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 Butler

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