The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A way of determining when to plant mimulus is to look at the USDA zone info for Alvin.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

Mimulus are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Alvin 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 mimulus and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your mimulus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Alvin. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Alvin may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Alvin you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your mimulus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alvin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Alvin

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