One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Culpeper it's a good idea to figure out 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 when the weather gets warmer.

You can not plant alternanthera until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Culpeper 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your alternanthera may not have a chance to really do well. 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Culpeper. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

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

USDA Zone Info for Culpeper

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Culpeper

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