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 Clayton can be reviewed to determine when you can 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.

Melampodium do not do well in cold weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Clayton 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. Any later than that and your melampodium may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your melampodium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Clayton. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Clayton is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Clayton last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your melampodium in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Clayton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Clayton

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