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.

The USDA zone info for Rio Rancho can be read to estimate when to plant thyme.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

Frost tolerance for thyme:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since thyme do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Rio Rancho 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 thyme and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your thyme may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your thyme indoors is a great way to get them started 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 USDA zone info for Rio Rancho is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rio Rancho you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your thyme in the event of a surprise 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.