The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. 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 Urbandale should be reffered to in order to estimate when it's a good idea to plant mimulus.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

Frost tolerance for mimulus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Mimulus require warm weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Urbandale 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your mimulus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Urbandale. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Urbandale is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Urbandale last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your mimulus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Urbandale

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 Urbandale

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