One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 first opportunity to plant alyssum in Sheldon should be estimated by checking out 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.

You can plant alyssum earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

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

Last Frost Date

In Sheldon the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Sheldon is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Sheldon it frosts late in the year after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your alyssum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sheldon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°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 -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Sheldon

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