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.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant asters is to check out the USDA zone info for East Alton.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

Asters do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant asters in East Alton 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your asters may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your asters indoors.

Last Frost Date

In East Alton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for East Alton is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in East Alton last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your asters if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for East Alton

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 East Alton

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Alton.