Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant alyssum by referring to the USDA zone info for Federal Way.

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 much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Federal Way 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Federal Way. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Federal Way and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Federal Way you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your alyssum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Federal Way

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Federal Way

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Federal Way.