One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 Ripon you can estimate when it's the best time to plant mimulus by reviewing 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.

You really shouldn't plant mimulus until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Ripon 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. Any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your mimulus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Ripon. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ripon may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ripon you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your mimulus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ripon

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 Ripon

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