One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's the best time to plant melampodium is to use the USDA zone info for Auburn.

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 require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Auburn 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your melampodium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Auburn. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Auburn and it is different every year. Half of the time in Auburn there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your melampodium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Auburn

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 Auburn

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