The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Taos can be reffered to in order to estimate when to plant alternanthera.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

Frost tolerance for alternanthera:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since alternanthera are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Taos is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant alternanthera and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your alternanthera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your alternanthera indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Taos may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Taos it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your alternanthera if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Taos

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Taos

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