One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when to plant alternaria is to look at the USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge.

Planting Calendar for Alternaria

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

Alternaria require warm weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant alternaria in Chicago Ridge 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. If you wait any later than that and your alternaria may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your alternaria indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Chicago Ridge the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Chicago Ridge you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your alternaria if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chicago Ridge

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 Chicago Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Chicago Ridge.