One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant alternanthera by looking at the USDA zone info for Abilene.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

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

Alternanthera are not cold tolerant which tells us that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Abilene 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your alternanthera indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Abilene 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Abilene is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Abilene you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your alternanthera in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Abilene

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 Abilene

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