Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Independence you will be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant alternanthera.

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 means that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Independence 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. If you are starting your alternanthera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Independence. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Independence is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Independence last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your alternanthera in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

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 Independence

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