One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's possible to plant monarda is to consult the USDA zone info for Port Townsend.

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 do ok in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Port Townsend 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your monarda may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your monarda indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Port Townsend. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Port Townsend and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Port Townsend you get a frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your monarda in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Port Townsend

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 Port Townsend

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Port Townsend.