Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 determine when it's a good idea to plant alyssum by checking out the USDA zone info for Zone 8a.

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 pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in Zone 8a 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 fully mature. Starting your alyssum indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Zone 8a. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Zone 8a is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 8a last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your alyssum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 8a

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 Zone 8a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 8a.