When to Plant Amaranthus in Mattoon, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Mattoon it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant amaranthus.


Planting Calendar for Amaranthus

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

You can not plant amaranthus until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant amaranthus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant amaranthus
Probably not a good time to plant amaranthus

The earliest that you can plant amaranthus in Mattoon 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 amaranthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your amaranthus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your amaranthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mattoon and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mattoon there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your amaranthus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mattoon

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 Mattoon

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