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When to Plant Jerusalem artichokes in Ruidoso, NM

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Ruidoso you will be able to figure out when to plant jerusalem artichokes.


Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

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

Jerusalem artichokes are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant jerusalem artichokes
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant jerusalem artichokes
Probably not a good time to plant jerusalem artichokes

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes 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 jerusalem artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your jerusalem artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your jerusalem artichokes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ruidoso the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ruidoso is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Ruidoso last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your jerusalem artichokes in the event of 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 Low0°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.