One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 first opportunity to plant garlic in Alexandria can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Garlic

Frost tolerance for garlic:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Garlic do well in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant garlic in Alexandria 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 garlic and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your garlic may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your garlic indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Alexandria. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alexandria and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Alexandria there is a last frost after March 15 so always be ready to cover your garlic if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alexandria

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Alexandria

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