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

The USDA zone info for Spirit Lake should be used to determine when to plant mimulus.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

Frost tolerance for mimulus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since mimulus require warm weather you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Spirit Lake is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant mimulus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your mimulus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Spirit Lake. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Spirit Lake may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Spirit Lake last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your mimulus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Spirit Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Spirit Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Spirit Lake.