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.

The USDA zone info for Las Cruces can be reffered to in order to determine when it's possible to plant mimulus.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

Frost tolerance for mimulus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant mimulus until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Las Cruces 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 mimulus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your mimulus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your mimulus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Las Cruces the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Las Cruces is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Las Cruces it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your mimulus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Las Cruces

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Las Cruces

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Las Cruces.