One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

One way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant alstromeria is to examine the USDA zone info for Santa Fe.

Planting Calendar for Alstromeria

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

Since alstromeria do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant alstromeria in Santa Fe 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 alstromeria and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your alstromeria may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your alstromeria indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Fe the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Santa Fe is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Fe it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your alstromeria in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Fe

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 Santa Fe

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Fe.