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.

You should be able to figure out when you can plant melampodium by looking at the USDA zone info for Niles.

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 are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Niles 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. If you are starting your melampodium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Niles. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Niles is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Niles last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your melampodium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Niles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

Plants to Grow in Niles

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