One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The best time to plant mimulus in Lancaster can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

You can not plant mimulus until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Lancaster 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. Starting your mimulus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Lancaster the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lancaster is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lancaster last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your mimulus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Lancaster

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