When to Plant Maltese Cross in Bethalto, IL

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.

One way of estimating when you can plant maltese cross is to check out the USDA zone info for Bethalto.


Planting Calendar for Maltese Cross

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

Maltese Cross are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant maltese cross 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 maltese cross and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your maltese cross may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your maltese cross indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Bethalto 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.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bethalto and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Bethalto you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your maltese cross if you have 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.