One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Lisle should be used to estimate when to plant mimulus.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

Since mimulus are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Lisle 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. If you wait any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Lisle the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Lisle is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Lisle there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your mimulus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lisle

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 Lisle

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