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

It's possible to figure out when it's possible to plant erysimum by checking out the USDA zone info for Ruidoso.

Planting Calendar for Erysimum

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

Erysimum are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant erysimum in Ruidoso 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 erysimum and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your erysimum may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your erysimum indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ruidoso the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ruidoso is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Ruidoso there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your erysimum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ruidoso

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Ruidoso

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