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

The USDA zone info for Decatur should be looked at to estimate when it's a good idea to plant monarda.

Planting Calendar for Monarda

Frost tolerance for monarda:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Monarda tend to make it in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Decatur is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant monarda and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your monarda may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your monarda indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Decatur. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Decatur and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Decatur you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your monarda in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Decatur

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 Decatur

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