One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In La Follette you can figure out when you can plant monarda by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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.

Monarda are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in La Follette 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. If you wait any later than that and your monarda may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your monarda indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in La Follette. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for La Follette and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in La Follette there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your monarda if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Follette

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 La Follette

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Follette.