One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Waconia it's a good idea to estimate 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.

It's a bad idea to plant mimulus until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Waconia 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. Starting your mimulus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Waconia is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Waconia last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your mimulus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Waconia

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 Waconia

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