When to Plant Mimulus in Mendota, IL

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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Mendota you will be able to figure out 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 the last frost has passed.

Since mimulus do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant mimulus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant mimulus
Probably not a good time to plant mimulus

The earliest that you can plant mimulus 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 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Mendota. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mendota is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Mendota 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 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.