One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 estimate when it's the best time to plant nicotiana.

Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

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

You really shouldn't plant nicotiana until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana in Alton 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 nicotiana and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your nicotiana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your nicotiana indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Alton. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Alton is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Alton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your nicotiana in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.