When to Plant Alyssum in Genoa, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant alyssum in Genoa should be determined 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.

Since alyssum are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant alyssum
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant alyssum
Probably not a good time to plant alyssum

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Genoa. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Genoa may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Genoa there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your alyssum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Genoa

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 Genoa

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