When to Plant Spearmint in Santa Fe, NM

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 best time to plant spearmint in Santa Fe should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Spearmint

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

Spearmint are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

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

Last Frost Date

In Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Fe there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your spearmint in the event of a surprise late frost.

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 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 Santa Fe

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