One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In West Point you can figure out when it's possible to plant melampodium by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

Since melampodium do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In West Point the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for West Point and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in West Point it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your melampodium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Point

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 West Point

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Point.