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.

In Ripley you can determine when it's the best time to plant mimulus by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

Mimulus require warm weather which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Ripley 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 mimulus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your mimulus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ripley the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ripley is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ripley you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your mimulus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ripley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Ripley

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