Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when to plant monarda is to refer to the USDA zone info for Marion.

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.

Monarda do ok in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Marion 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your monarda indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Marion the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Marion and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Marion it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your monarda if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marion

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Marion

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