Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Hillsborough you should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant mimulus.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

Since mimulus are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Hillsborough 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your mimulus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your mimulus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Hillsborough. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hillsborough is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Hillsborough you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your mimulus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hillsborough

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 Hillsborough

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