One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In El Paso you can determine when it's a good idea to plant achimenes by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

Frost tolerance for achimenes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You should not plant achimenes until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in El Paso 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 achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your achimenes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your achimenes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In El Paso the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for El Paso is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in El Paso last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to protect your achimenes in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Paso

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 Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 El Paso

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Paso.