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.

One way of making a decision about when to plant achimenes is to check out the USDA zone info for Gypsum.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

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

It's a bad idea to 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 Gypsum 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. Starting your achimenes indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Gypsum. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Gypsum is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Gypsum it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your achimenes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gypsum

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Gypsum

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