One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The first opportunity to plant alternanthera in Marshalltown can be estimated 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.

It's probably not a good idea to plant alternanthera until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Marshalltown 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your alternanthera indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Marshalltown. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Marshalltown and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Marshalltown it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your alternanthera in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marshalltown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Marshalltown

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