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.

A common way of determining when it's possible to plant tropical water plants is to use the USDA zone info for El Paso.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

Frost tolerance for tropical water plants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant tropical water plants until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants in El Paso 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 tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tropical water plants may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your tropical water plants indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in El Paso. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for El Paso is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in El Paso there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your tropical water plants if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Paso

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 El Paso

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Paso.