One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Gulf Shores you can figure out when you can plant alternanthera by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

Frost tolerance for alternanthera:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You can not plant alternanthera until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Gulf Shores is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant alternanthera and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your alternanthera may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your alternanthera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Gulf Shores. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Gulf Shores is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Gulf Shores you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your alternanthera if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gulf Shores

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Gulf Shores

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gulf Shores.