One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant tall phlox by reviewing the USDA zone info for Santa Fe.

Planting Calendar for Tall Phlox

Frost tolerance for tall phlox:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant tall phlox just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant tall phlox in Santa Fe 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 tall phlox and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your tall phlox may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your tall phlox indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Santa Fe. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Fe is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Santa Fe you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your tall phlox in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Fe

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°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 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Fe

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Fe.