Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Mount Vernon you can estimate when you can 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.

Since alyssum are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Mount Vernon 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your alyssum may not have a chance to really do well. 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 Mount Vernon the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mount Vernon and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mount Vernon you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your alyssum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Vernon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Mount Vernon

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Vernon.