One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 USDA zone info for Mount Vernon can be looked at to figure out when 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.

Monarda tend to make it in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Mount Vernon 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. Any later than that and your monarda may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your monarda indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mount Vernon. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Mount Vernon is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Mount Vernon there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your monarda in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Vernon

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 Mount Vernon

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Vernon.