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.

You can figure out when you can plant stevia in Alton by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Stevia

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

Stevia do not do well in cold weather which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant stevia 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 stevia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your stevia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your stevia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed 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 an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Alton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your stevia in the event of a 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.