Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant alternaria in Champaign can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Alternaria

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

You can not plant alternaria until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant alternaria in Champaign 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 alternaria and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your alternaria may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your alternaria 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 Champaign. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Champaign and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Champaign you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your alternaria if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Champaign

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Champaign

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