One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant mimulus is to examine the USDA zone info for Forest City.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

Since mimulus are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Forest City 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Forest City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Forest City is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Forest City you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your mimulus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Forest City

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 Forest City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Forest City.