When to Plant Monarda in Zone 1b

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Zone 1b you can estimate when it's possible to plant monarda by looking at 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 just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Zone 1b is June. However, you really should wait until July if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant monarda and expect a good harvest is probably July. If you wait any later than that and your monarda may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your monarda indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is June 15 in Zone 1b. You should expect an average low temperature of -55°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 1b is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 1b it frosts late in the year after June 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your monarda in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 1b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 1b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)June 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)July 15
Lowest Expected Low-55°F
Highest Expected Low-50°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -55°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -50°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 1b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 1b.