One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Santa Clara you can determine when it's the best time to plant mimulus by referring to 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 do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Santa Clara 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 grow to maturity. Starting your mimulus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Clara and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Santa Clara you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your mimulus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Clara

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 Santa Clara

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Clara.