Get a copy of the Sunset Western Garden Book. If it says something will grow in your zone, it will.

Go to the Las Cruces library and ask them if they have any plant lists for xeriscaping and gardening.

Look around the neighborhood, find a great garden and ask them.

You should be able to grow the entire lettuce, broccoli and kale family all through the winter there. They like cool weather and can tolerate some frost.

Thanks Lazygardens!!

I've lived in Albuquerque (zone 7) for many years & find I can grow things better than I coud back in Iowa ... I just don't depend on Nature to nurture the garden here as was done in Iowa! Our garden is on drip/soaker hoses on a timer, we add all our's & the neighbor's leaves that we can get & compost them on the garden in the Fall & compost kitchen scraps into the soil also. The once caliche (can make pottery out of it!) soil in our part of the City is now after years of help now very dark & easy to cultivate. We also add the volcanic sand from our son's in the NW part of the City from the volcanic escarpments to our gardens & that has done the most help for the soil at our place.

You will find a lot of pleasure gardening here in New Mexico ... good luck & enjoy!

Welcome to Las Cruces!!! Gardening here is great. It's nice to be in a climate where you can grow cold tolerant palms, yet winter nights cold enough for fruit trees to thrive here. At our property here,we have pomegranites, figs, a cold hardy variety of tangerine which produces abundant fall fruit, a cold hardy guava, and about 15 species of cold tolerant palm trees, including a Pindo palm with fruits which are made into delicious jellies and jams (this tree is called a Jelly Palm in the Southeastern cities). Good luck and happy gardening!!

Thanks everyone!