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

The USDA zone info for Taos should be read to figure out when it's the best time to plant lavender.

Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

You can plant lavender just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant lavender in Taos 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lavender may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your lavender indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Taos. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Taos is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Taos there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your lavender if you have a late frost.

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.