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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant alternanthera is to use the USDA zone info for Worcester.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

Frost tolerance for alternanthera:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

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

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Worcester 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 few weeks earlier by starting your alternanthera indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Worcester. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Worcester may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Worcester it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your alternanthera if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Worcester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Worcester

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