One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In East Alton you can estimate when to plant xerianthemum by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Xerianthemum

Frost tolerance for xerianthemum:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant xerianthemum a bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant xerianthemum in East Alton is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant xerianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your xerianthemum may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your xerianthemum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in East Alton. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember 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 East Alton and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in East Alton there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your xerianthemum in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.