The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when you can plant sunflowers is to consult the USDA zone info for Truth or Consequences.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

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

Sunflowers require warm weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Truth or Consequences. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Truth or Consequences is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Truth or Consequences it frosts late in the year after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your sunflowers in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.