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.

A way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant alyssum is to use the USDA zone info for Mansfield.

Planting Calendar for Alyssum

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

Alyssum are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Mansfield 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 grow to maturity. Starting your alyssum indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Mansfield. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°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 Mansfield and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mansfield last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your alyssum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mansfield

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 Mansfield

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