Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant arabis is to refer to the USDA zone info for El Cajon.

Planting Calendar for Arabis

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

Since arabis are very cold tolerant you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in El Cajon is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant arabis and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your arabis may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your arabis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in El Cajon. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for El Cajon and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in El Cajon there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your arabis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Cajon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in El Cajon

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Cajon.