One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 Bradford should be used to estimate when it's possible to plant mimulus.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

Since mimulus require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Bradford 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. If you wait any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Bradford the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bradford is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Bradford it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your mimulus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bradford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Bradford

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