One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Tacoma you should be able to estimate when to plant alternanthera.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

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

Alternanthera require warm weather which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Tacoma 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your alternanthera indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Tacoma. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Tacoma may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Tacoma you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your alternanthera in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tacoma

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Tacoma

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