One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Benson you can determine when to plant monkey flower by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Monkey Flower

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

It's not a good idea to plant monkey flower until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant monkey flower in Benson 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 monkey flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your monkey flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your monkey flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Benson the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Benson is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Benson it frosts late in the year after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your monkey flower in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Benson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Benson

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