Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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 alternanthera in Downers Grove should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

Frost tolerance for alternanthera:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Alternanthera require warm weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Downers Grove 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 alternanthera and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your alternanthera may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your alternanthera indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Downers Grove. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Downers Grove may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Downers Grove you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your alternanthera in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Downers Grove

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 Downers Grove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Downers Grove.