Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Palo Alto you can determine when to plant monkey flower by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Monkey Flower

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

It's not a good idea to plant monkey flower until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant monkey flower in Palo Alto 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 monkey flower and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your monkey flower may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your monkey flower indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Palo Alto the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Palo Alto is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Palo Alto there is a last frost after February 15 so always be ready to protect your monkey flower if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Palo Alto

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 Palo Alto

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Palo Alto.