The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A common way of figuring out when to plant oenothera is to refer to the USDA zone info for Mesquite.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

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

Since oenothera do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in Mesquite 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 oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oenothera may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your oenothera indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Mesquite. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mesquite is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Mesquite you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your oenothera if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mesquite

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Mesquite

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