Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant alternaria in Virginia by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Alternaria

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

Alternaria require warm weather which means that it's 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 alternaria in Virginia is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant alternaria and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your alternaria may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your alternaria indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Virginia. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -35°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Virginia and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Virginia you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your alternaria in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Virginia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Virginia

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