When to Plant Alternanthera in University Park, 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.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in University Park can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

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

Since alternanthera are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in University Park 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 grow to maturity. Starting your alternanthera indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in University Park. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for University Park and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in University Park you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your alternanthera in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for University Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in University Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for University Park.