One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant monarda in Zone 11b by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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.

Since monarda do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Zone 11b is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant monarda and expect a good harvest is probably November. Any later than that and your monarda may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your monarda indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 11b it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 45°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 11b and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 11b you do not have to be ready to protect your monarda in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 11b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 11b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	45°F
Highest Expected Low	50°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 45°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 50°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 11b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 11b.