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

It's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant salpiglossis by looking at the USDA zone info for Benson.

Planting Calendar for Salpiglossis

Frost tolerance for salpiglossis:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Salpiglossis are not cold tolerant which means that you really should wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant salpiglossis in Benson 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 salpiglossis and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your salpiglossis may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your salpiglossis indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Benson. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Benson and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Benson it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your salpiglossis if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Benson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Benson

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