When to Plant Monarda in Grand Ledge, MI

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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.

It's a good idea to determine when you can plant monarda by reviewing the USDA zone info for Grand Ledge.


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.

Since monarda are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant monarda
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant monarda
Probably not a good time to plant monarda

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Grand Ledge 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. If you wait any later than that and your monarda may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your monarda indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Grand Ledge the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Grand Ledge and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Grand Ledge it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your monarda if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Grand Ledge

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 Grand Ledge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Grand Ledge.