One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant monarda in Lomita can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

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.

Since monarda do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Lomita 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your monarda indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Lomita the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lomita and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lomita you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so always be ready to cover your monarda if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lomita

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Lomita

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