The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Marion you can determine when it's a good idea to plant alyssum by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Alyssum

Frost tolerance for alyssum:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Alyssum are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Marion is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant alyssum and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your alyssum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your alyssum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Marion. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Marion is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Marion there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your alyssum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marion

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Marion

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