One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Newport it's a good idea to figure out when you can plant alyssum.

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 quite a bit earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Newport 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 grow to maturity. 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 March 15 in Newport. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Newport may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Newport there is a last frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your alyssum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Newport

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 Newport

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