One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

In Rio Rancho you can estimate when to plant alternanthera by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

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

Alternanthera are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Rio Rancho 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 alternanthera and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your alternanthera may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your alternanthera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rio Rancho. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rio Rancho and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rio Rancho there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your alternanthera if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rio Rancho

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Rio Rancho

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rio Rancho.