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 first opportunity to plant arctotis in Bethalto should be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Arctotis

Frost tolerance for arctotis:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant arctotis a little bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Bethalto 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 arctotis and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your arctotis may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your arctotis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Bethalto is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Bethalto there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your arctotis in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bethalto

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 Bethalto

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