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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Ashtabula it's a good idea to determine when to plant melampodium.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

You really shouldn't plant melampodium until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Ashtabula 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 grow to maturity. Starting your melampodium indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ashtabula the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ashtabula may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ashtabula you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your melampodium in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ashtabula

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Ashtabula

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