One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A common way of estimating when it's possible to plant monarda is to examine the USDA zone info for Cotati.

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 do well in some cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Cotati 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 monarda and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your monarda may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your monarda indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Cotati. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cotati and it is different every year. Half of the time in Cotati last frost occurs after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your monarda if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cotati

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Cotati

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