One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

The first opportunity to plant arabis in Florence should be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Arabis

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

Since arabis do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Florence 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your arabis indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Florence. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Florence is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Florence there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your arabis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Florence

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Florence

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