One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant coleus in Altoona by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

Frost tolerance for coleus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since coleus require warm weather it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant coleus in Altoona is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant coleus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your coleus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your coleus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Altoona the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Altoona is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Altoona you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your coleus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Altoona

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