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

The best time to plant alyssum in Benson can be figured out by reviewing 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 do well in cold weather which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Benson 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. Starting your alyssum indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Benson. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Benson is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Benson last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your alyssum in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benson

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 Benson

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