Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant nasturtium is to consult the USDA zone info for Portales.

Planting Calendar for Nasturtium

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

It's a bad idea to plant nasturtium until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant nasturtium in Portales 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 nasturtium and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your nasturtium may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your nasturtium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Portales. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Portales is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Portales you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your nasturtium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portales

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 Portales

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