One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The USDA zone info for Rittman can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's the best time to plant melampodium.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

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 Rittman 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your melampodium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Rittman. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Rittman may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Rittman it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your melampodium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rittman

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 Rittman

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