The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for The Colony should be reffered to in order to estimate when it's a good idea to plant alternanthera.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

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

Since alternanthera do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in The Colony 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 really do well. Starting your alternanthera indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in The Colony. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for The Colony is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in The Colony it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your alternanthera in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for The Colony

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in The Colony

You may be interested in your other planting guides for The Colony.