One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

By using the USDA zone info for North Charleston it's possible to figure out when you can plant melampodium.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

Melampodium require warm weather which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in North Charleston 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in North Charleston. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for North Charleston is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in North Charleston there is a last frost after March 15 so always be ready to cover your melampodium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for North Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in North Charleston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for North Charleston.