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.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant mimulus in Abilene by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

Frost tolerance for mimulus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since mimulus are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Abilene 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 really do well. If you are starting your mimulus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Abilene the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Abilene and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Abilene you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your mimulus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Abilene

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 Abilene

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