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 looking at the USDA zone info for Melbourne it's possible to determine when it's possible to plant monkey flower.

Planting Calendar for Monkey Flower

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant monkey flower until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant monkey flower in Melbourne 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your monkey flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your monkey flower indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Melbourne and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Melbourne there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your monkey flower in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Melbourne

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 Melbourne

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