One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

In Cortez you can estimate when you can plant monarda by referring to the USDA zone info.

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 are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Cortez 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 monarda and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your monarda may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your monarda indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Cortez. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cortez and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cortez you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your monarda in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cortez

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Cortez

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