The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Gilmer you can estimate when you can plant monarda by looking at 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 one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Gilmer 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your monarda indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Gilmer. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Gilmer may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Gilmer it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your monarda if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gilmer

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 Gilmer

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