My experience is that Alyssum reseeds itself quite readily. It seems to come up with the first heat in late April here in St. Louis. When I want it elsewhere I direct seed after the frost danger is past and this stuff comes up so quickly. I try to reserve the inside germinating for slower growing plants.

Did you start it too soon? You now have to keep it alive for 6 to 7 weeks. I have about 500 plants to keep alive..lol.

I would not cut it back unless it get out of hand. The hardest part is getting these plants used to outside conditions. ( hardening off).

If you have any seed left then experiment and sow some outside in early April where you want it to grow. You may just find that this fast growing plant will outgrow your seedlings when started in the ground.

CrAzY LaRrY

I started my Alyssum outside and it germinated pretty early (late Jan/early Feb if I remember right). PA is certainly colder, maybe in a few weeks you can start hardening it off?

This is one I have winter sown for 3 years now and transplant them before the average last frost date by a week or two. They are pretty good at handling temps in the upper 20s and tolerate being transplanted in chunks also. Love them for edges.

Because alyssum is quite frost tolerant, if you can luck into a week or so of at least 40Ë in which to harden them off, then take a shot and plant them out after that several weeks before you normally would. Unless, of course, you're still digging through several inches of snow or the ground is so frozen you can't stick a trowel into it.

I'm w/you as far as having scarfed up flats and flats of alyssum first thing each spring and then graduated to seeding flats and flats of my own indoors. Until several years ago I decided to take a chance and direct seed. As larry indicated, the direct-seeded alyssum not only caught up w/but surpassed the transplants in hardiness and girth.

I usually purchase dozens of packets of alyssum seed at the end of each season when stores are unloading them. I've paid as little as $1.00 for 20 full-size packets. I mean, how could anyone pass up seed for 5¢ a packet!

Good luck w/all your babies. Fortunately, as was mentioned, they can withstand an early transplant so you won't have to worry about them taking over the house. :)

Linda