One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

You should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant alyssum by checking out the USDA zone info for Rio Vista.

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 very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Rio Vista 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your alyssum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Rio Vista. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Rio Vista is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Rio Vista you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your alyssum in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rio Vista

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Rio Vista

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rio Vista.