One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You will be able to determine when you can plant melampodium by looking at the USDA zone info for Long Beach.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

Since melampodium do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Long Beach 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 melampodium and expect a good harvest is probably September. 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Long Beach. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Long Beach is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Long Beach it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your melampodium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Long Beach

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Long Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Long Beach.