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

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant mimulus is to look at the USDA zone info for Live Oak.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

Since mimulus require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Live Oak 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. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Live Oak. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Live Oak is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Live Oak there is a last frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your mimulus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Live Oak

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 Live Oak

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Live Oak.