Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant melampodium in Dayton should be figured out by looking at 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.

Melampodium require warm weather which tells us that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Dayton is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant melampodium and expect a good harvest is probably September. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Dayton. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Dayton and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Dayton it frosts late in the year after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your melampodium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dayton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Dayton

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