One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

A way of figuring out when to plant nierembergia is to look at the USDA zone info for Mendota.

Planting Calendar for Nierembergia

Frost tolerance for nierembergia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Nierembergia do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mendota. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mendota and it is different every year. Half of the time in Mendota you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your nierembergia 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.