One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant mimulus by referring to the USDA zone info for Metuchen.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

It's probably not a good 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 Metuchen 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Metuchen the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Metuchen is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Metuchen there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your mimulus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Metuchen

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Metuchen

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