The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Portales you can estimate when it's the best time to plant phlox by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

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

You can plant phlox a little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant phlox in Portales 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 phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your phlox indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Portales is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Portales there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your phlox if you have one of those late frosts.

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.