One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 Minneapolis 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.

You can plant alyssum a lot earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Minneapolis is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant alyssum and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your alyssum may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your alyssum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Minneapolis the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Minneapolis is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Minneapolis you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your alyssum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Minneapolis

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Minneapolis

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