The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Utica you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant alyssum by looking at 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.

Alyssum do ok in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Utica 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your alyssum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Utica. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Utica and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Utica you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your alyssum in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Utica

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Utica

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