One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The USDA zone info for Plattsmouth can be used to estimate when it's a good idea to plant monarda.

Planting Calendar for Monarda

Frost tolerance for monarda:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since monarda are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Plattsmouth is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant monarda and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your monarda may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your monarda indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Plattsmouth. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Plattsmouth may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Plattsmouth it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your monarda if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Plattsmouth

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Plattsmouth

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