One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 USDA zone info for Northampton should be looked at 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 tend to make it in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Northampton 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your alyssum may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your alyssum indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Northampton. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Northampton and it is different every year. Half of the time in Northampton you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your alyssum if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Northampton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Northampton

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