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.

A way of estimating when it's possible to plant alyssum is to consult the USDA zone info for Carthage.

Planting Calendar for Alyssum

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

Alyssum do well in cold which means that you can start planting them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Carthage 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 fully mature. Starting your alyssum indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Carthage. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Carthage is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Carthage you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your alyssum if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carthage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Carthage

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