One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Winnetka you will be able to figure out when to plant mimulus.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

Mimulus require warm weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Winnetka 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. Any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your mimulus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Winnetka. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Winnetka is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Winnetka you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your mimulus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Winnetka

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 Winnetka

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