One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The USDA zone info for Urbandale should be used to determine when it's a good idea to plant alyssum.

Planting Calendar for Alyssum

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

Alyssum can survive in cold weather which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Urbandale 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your alyssum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Urbandale. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Urbandale may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Urbandale there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your alyssum if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Urbandale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Urbandale

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