Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Muscle Shoals it's a good idea to determine when to plant alternanthera.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

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

It's not a good idea to plant alternanthera until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Muscle Shoals 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 alternanthera and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your alternanthera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your alternanthera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Muscle Shoals. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Muscle Shoals is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Muscle Shoals it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your alternanthera if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Muscle Shoals

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Muscle Shoals

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Muscle Shoals.