The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Austin you can figure out when it's possible 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 has passed.

Mimulus do not do well in cold weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Austin is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. If you are starting your mimulus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Austin the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Austin and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Austin you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your mimulus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Austin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Austin

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