One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 first chance to plant alyssum in Benton Harbor can 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 do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Benton Harbor 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

In Benton Harbor the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Benton Harbor may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Benton Harbor there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your alyssum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Benton Harbor

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Benton Harbor

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Benton Harbor.