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.

In Murrieta you can estimate when it's the best time to plant mimulus by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

Frost tolerance for mimulus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Mimulus are not cold tolerant which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Murrieta 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 mimulus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your mimulus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Murrieta. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Murrieta is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Murrieta you get a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your mimulus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Murrieta

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Murrieta

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