One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant mimulus is to consult the USDA zone info for Lockhart.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

Frost tolerance for mimulus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably a bad idea to plant mimulus until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Lockhart 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Lockhart. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Lockhart is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lockhart there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your mimulus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lockhart

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Lockhart

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