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.

The first opportunity to plant oenothera in Las Cruces should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

Frost tolerance for oenothera:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Oenothera tend to make it in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in Las Cruces is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oenothera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your oenothera indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Las Cruces is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Las Cruces you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your oenothera if you have a surprise late frost.

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.