When to Plant Pumpkins in Alton, IL

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

You can determine when it's the best time to plant pumpkins in Alton by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

Frost tolerance for pumpkins: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

Pumpkins are not cold tolerant which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pumpkins
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pumpkins
Probably not a good time to plant pumpkins

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins 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 pumpkins and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pumpkins may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your pumpkins indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Alton. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Alton is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Alton there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your pumpkins 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.