One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Alton it's possible to estimate when to plant polygonums.

Planting Calendar for Polygonums

Frost tolerance for polygonums:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since polygonums do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant polygonums 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 polygonums and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your polygonums may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your polygonums indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Alton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Alton may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Alton you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your polygonums 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.