The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. 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 Ripley can be reviewed to determine when it's the best time 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 need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Ripley 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 fully mature. If you are starting your mimulus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ripley. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ripley is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ripley last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your mimulus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ripley

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 Ripley

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