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.

In Odessa you can estimate when to plant melampodium by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

You really shouldn't plant melampodium until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Odessa 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. Any later than that and your melampodium may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your melampodium indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Odessa the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Odessa and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Odessa there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your melampodium in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Odessa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Odessa

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