One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Needles it's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant arabis.

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 quite a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Needles 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 grow to maturity. Starting your arabis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Needles. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Needles and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Needles last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your arabis in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Needles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Needles

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