The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to determine when to plant mimulus by referring to the USDA zone info for Newport.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant mimulus until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Newport 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 little bit earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Newport. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Newport and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Newport you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your mimulus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Newport

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Newport

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