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.

You will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant mimulus by looking at the USDA zone info for Cornelius.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

Since mimulus require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Cornelius 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your mimulus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Cornelius the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cornelius and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Cornelius it frosts late in the year after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your mimulus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cornelius

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Cornelius

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