One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant four o' clock is to use the USDA zone info for Espanola.

Planting Calendar for Four O' Clock

Frost tolerance for four o' clock:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Four O' Clock are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant four o' clock in Espanola 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 four o' clock and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your four o' clock may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your four o' clock indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Espanola. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Espanola is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Espanola there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your four o' clock if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Espanola

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Espanola

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