One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A common way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant geranium is to use the USDA zone info for Truth or Consequences.

Planting Calendar for Geranium

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant geranium until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant geranium in Truth or Consequences 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 geranium and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your geranium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your geranium indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Truth or Consequences. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Truth or Consequences and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Truth or Consequences you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your geranium in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Truth or Consequences

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Truth or Consequences

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Truth or Consequences.