One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant melampodium is to consult the USDA zone info for Kearney.

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 you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Kearney 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 little bit earlier by starting your melampodium indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Kearney the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Kearney and it is different every year. Half of the time in Kearney it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your melampodium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Kearney

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Kearney

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