One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

In Grayslake you can estimate when you can plant alyssum 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.

Alyssum do ok in cold weather which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Grayslake 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your alyssum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Grayslake. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Grayslake is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Grayslake it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your alyssum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Grayslake

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 Grayslake

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