When to Plant Monarda in Clarinda, IA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant monarda in Clarinda should be determined 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.

You can plant monarda a bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant monarda
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant monarda
Probably not a good time to plant monarda

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Clarinda 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your monarda may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your monarda indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Clarinda. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Clarinda may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Clarinda you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your monarda if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Clarinda

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Clarinda

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