Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant monarda is to use the USDA zone info for Brookhaven.

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.

Since monarda are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Brookhaven 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

In Brookhaven the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Brookhaven is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Brookhaven last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your monarda in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Brookhaven

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Brookhaven

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