Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

You can determine when it's the best time to plant melampodium in Philadelphia by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

You can not plant melampodium until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Philadelphia 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Philadelphia. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Philadelphia and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Philadelphia you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your melampodium in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Philadelphia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Philadelphia

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