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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Hope you will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant mimulus.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

It's a bad idea to plant mimulus until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Hope 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. If you wait any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your mimulus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Hope. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Hope is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hope you get a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your mimulus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hope

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Hope

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