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.

The first chance to plant alternanthera in Melbourne can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

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

Since alternanthera do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Melbourne 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. Any later than that and your alternanthera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your alternanthera indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Melbourne. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Melbourne is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Melbourne you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your alternanthera if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Melbourne

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Melbourne

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