One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

It's possible to figure out when you can plant melampodium by checking out the USDA zone info for Louisville.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

Since melampodium do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Louisville 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your melampodium indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Louisville the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Louisville is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Louisville it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your melampodium in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Louisville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Louisville

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