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

One way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant pansies is to examine the USDA zone info for Alamosa.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

Frost tolerance for pansies:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Pansies do ok in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Alamosa is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Alamosa. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alamosa and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Alamosa you get a frost after May 15 so always be ready to cover your pansies if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alamosa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Alamosa

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