One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to determine when you can plant caladium by using the USDA zone info for Artesia.

Planting Calendar for Caladium

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

Since caladium do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Artesia 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 caladium and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your caladium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your caladium 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 April 15 in Artesia. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Artesia is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Artesia you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your caladium in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Artesia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Artesia

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