When to Plant Zucchini in Las Cruces, NM

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The first chance to plant zucchini in Las Cruces should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Zucchini

Frost tolerance for zucchini: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

Zucchini are not cold tolerant which means that you need to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant zucchini
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant zucchini
Probably not a good time to plant zucchini

The earliest that you can plant zucchini 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 zucchini and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your zucchini may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your zucchini indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Las Cruces. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Las Cruces is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Las Cruces last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your zucchini 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 Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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.