One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant alyssum is to check out the USDA zone info for Port Washington.

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 cold weather which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Port Washington 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Port Washington. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Port Washington is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Port Washington there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your alyssum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Port Washington

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 Port Washington

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Port Washington.