One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

You should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant monarda by reviewing the USDA zone info for Redwood City.

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 Redwood City 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. If you wait any later than that and your monarda may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your monarda indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Redwood City may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Redwood City last frost occurs after February 15 so always be ready to protect your monarda in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Redwood City

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 Redwood City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Redwood City.