One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Alton should be used to figure out when it's the best time to plant baby's breath.

Planting Calendar for Baby's Breath

Frost tolerance for baby's breath:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Baby's Breath do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant baby's breath in Alton is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant baby's breath and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your baby's breath may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your baby's breath indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Alton. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alton and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Alton last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your baby's breath in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Alton

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