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

The USDA zone info for Zone 10a can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's possible to plant melampodium.

Planting Calendar for Melampodium

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

Melampodium do not do well in cold weather which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant melampodium in Zone 10a is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your melampodium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Zone 10a. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Zone 10a may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 10a you get a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to protect your melampodium in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 10a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 10a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 10a.