One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

One way of determining when you can plant alternanthera is to consult the USDA zone info for Benton.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

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

Since alternanthera are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Benton 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. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Benton. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Benton and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Benton there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your alternanthera in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Benton

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 Benton

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