One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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 Mendota can be looked at to estimate when it's possible to plant calliopsis.

Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

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

Since calliopsis do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant calliopsis in Mendota 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 calliopsis and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your calliopsis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your calliopsis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Mendota is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Mendota you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your calliopsis in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mendota

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 Mendota

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