One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Simi Valley it's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant monarda.

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 a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Simi Valley 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your monarda indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Simi Valley. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Simi Valley is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Simi Valley it frosts late in the year after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your monarda if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Simi Valley

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 Simi Valley

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Simi Valley.