One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 La Quinta you can determine when it's possible to plant mimulus by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

It's a bad idea to plant mimulus until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in La Quinta is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant mimulus and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to really do well. 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

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

Since the USDA zone info for La Quinta is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in La Quinta you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your mimulus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for La Quinta

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 La Quinta

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Quinta.