One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Stafford you should be able to determine when to plant mimulus.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant mimulus until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Stafford 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. If you wait any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Stafford. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Stafford and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Stafford there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your mimulus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Stafford

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 Stafford

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