Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Crystal City you will be able to estimate when to plant melampodium.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

Frost tolerance for melampodium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's not a good idea to plant melampodium until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Crystal City 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your melampodium may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your melampodium indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Crystal City. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Crystal City is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Crystal City you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your melampodium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Crystal City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Crystal City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Crystal City.