When to Plant Monarda in Anchorage, AK

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.

The first opportunity to plant monarda in Anchorage should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Monarda

Frost tolerance for monarda: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Monarda are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant monarda
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant monarda
Probably not a good time to plant monarda

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Anchorage 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 monarda and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your monarda may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your monarda indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Anchorage the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Anchorage is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Anchorage there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your monarda in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Anchorage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Anchorage

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