One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The best time to plant mimulus in Niles can be figured out 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.

It's probably not a good idea to plant mimulus until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Niles 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. Any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your mimulus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Niles is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Niles you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your mimulus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Niles

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 Niles

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