One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

In Chestertown you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant mimulus by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

Since mimulus do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Chestertown 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 fully mature. Starting your mimulus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chestertown. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Chestertown may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Chestertown last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your mimulus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chestertown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Chestertown

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