Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when to plant alternanthera by using the USDA zone info for Ionia.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

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

Since alternanthera require warm weather it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Ionia 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. If you wait any later than that and your alternanthera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your alternanthera indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Ionia. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ionia is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ionia last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your alternanthera in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ionia

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 Ionia

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