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

You can determine when it's the best time to plant mimulus in Modesto 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 when the weather gets warmer.

Since mimulus do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Modesto 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. Starting your mimulus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Modesto. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Modesto and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Modesto last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your mimulus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Modesto

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 Modesto

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