One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in Monticello can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

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

Since achimenes require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in Monticello 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 achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your achimenes may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your achimenes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Monticello. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Monticello is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Monticello there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your achimenes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Monticello

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 Monticello

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