One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when to plant arabis is to refer to the USDA zone info for Silvis.

Planting Calendar for Arabis

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

Arabis can survive in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Silvis 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 arabis and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your arabis may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your arabis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Silvis. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Silvis and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Silvis last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your arabis in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Silvis

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 Silvis

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