One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant melampodium by reviewing the USDA zone info for El Campo.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

Since melampodium require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in El Campo 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your melampodium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your melampodium indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in El Campo. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for El Campo and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in El Campo it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your melampodium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Campo

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 El Campo

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Campo.