The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Elmhurst can be figured out by referring to 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.

Since alyssum do well in cold you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Elmhurst 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your alyssum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Elmhurst. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Elmhurst is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Elmhurst it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your alyssum in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elmhurst

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 Elmhurst

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