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

A way of figuring out when it's possible to plant mimulus is to consult the USDA zone info for Oak Park.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

Mimulus are not cold tolerant which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Oak Park 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Oak Park the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oak Park and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Oak Park 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 Oak Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Oak Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Park.