The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant mimulus is to look at the USDA zone info for San Francisco.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

You should not plant mimulus until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in San Francisco 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 mimulus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In San Francisco the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for San Francisco may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in San Francisco there is a last frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to cover your mimulus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Francisco

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in San Francisco

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Francisco.