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.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant mimulus is to examine the USDA zone info for Jefferson.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

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

You really shouldn't plant mimulus until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Jefferson 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Jefferson. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Jefferson and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Jefferson you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your mimulus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jefferson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Jefferson

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