One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant mimulus is to examine the USDA zone info for Cornelius.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

Mimulus are not cold tolerant which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Cornelius 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Cornelius the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cornelius and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Cornelius last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your mimulus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cornelius

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Cornelius

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