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.

A way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant alyssum is to consult the USDA zone info for Owatonna.

Planting Calendar for Alyssum

Frost tolerance for alyssum:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Alyssum are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Owatonna 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your alyssum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Owatonna. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Owatonna and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Owatonna it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your alyssum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Owatonna

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 Owatonna

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