Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Lafayette you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant mimulus.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

You really shouldn't plant mimulus until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Lafayette 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 mimulus and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Lafayette. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Lafayette may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lafayette it frosts late in the year after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your mimulus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lafayette

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Lafayette

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