When to Plant Alyssum in Ephrata, PA

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.

The first chance to plant alyssum in Ephrata should be figured out by reviewing 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 one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant alyssum
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant alyssum
Probably not a good time to plant alyssum

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Ephrata 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. If you wait any later than that and your alyssum may not have a chance to really do well. 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 April 15 in Ephrata. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ephrata may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ephrata last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your alyssum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ephrata

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Ephrata

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