One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

You should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant monarda by using the USDA zone info for West Columbia.

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 do ok in moderate cold you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in West Columbia 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. If you are starting your monarda indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In West Columbia the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for West Columbia and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in West Columbia you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your monarda if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for West Columbia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in West Columbia

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Columbia.