One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 should be able to estimate when to plant alyssum by using the USDA zone info for Fort Madison.

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 other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Fort Madison 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. Any later than that and your alyssum may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your alyssum indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Fort Madison. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Fort Madison is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Fort Madison it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your alyssum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

Plants to Grow in Fort Madison

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Madison.