One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when you can plant balloon flower is to check out the USDA zone info for Rio Rancho.

Planting Calendar for Balloon Flower

Frost tolerance for balloon flower:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Balloon Flower can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant balloon flower in Rio Rancho is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant balloon flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your balloon flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your balloon flower indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Rio Rancho. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rio Rancho may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rio Rancho there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your balloon flower if you have a late frost.

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.