One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 USDA zone info for Middletown can be read to figure out when it's possible 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.

Since monarda are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Middletown 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your monarda may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your monarda indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Middletown the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Middletown is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Middletown it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your monarda in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Middletown

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 Middletown

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