One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant alyssum is to check out the USDA zone info for Newark.

Planting Calendar for Alyssum

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

Since alyssum are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The last month that you can plant alyssum and expect a good harvest is probably October. 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 January 31 in Newark. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Newark is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Newark there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to protect your alyssum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Newark

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Newark

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