When to Plant Mimulus in Yelm, WA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant mimulus by looking at the USDA zone info for Yelm.


Planting Calendar for Mimulus

Frost tolerance for mimulus: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Since mimulus do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant mimulus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant mimulus
Probably not a good time to plant mimulus

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Yelm 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Yelm the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

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 Yelm and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Yelm you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your mimulus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Yelm

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 Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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 Yelm

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