One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when to plant alternaria is to look at the USDA zone info for Palatine.

Planting Calendar for Alternaria

Frost tolerance for alternaria:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since alternaria are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant alternaria in Palatine 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 alternaria and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your alternaria may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your alternaria indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Palatine. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Palatine may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Palatine you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your alternaria if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Palatine

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Palatine

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