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 first chance to plant banana in Monticello should be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Banana

Frost tolerance for banana:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant banana until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant banana 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 banana and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your banana may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your banana indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Monticello may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Monticello it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your banana if you have one of those late frosts.

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.