One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 earliest that you can plant pentas in Alva should be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pentas

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

Since pentas are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pentas in Alva 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 pentas and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pentas may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your pentas indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Alva the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Alva is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Alva you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your pentas if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alva

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Alva

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