One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

It's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant arabis by using the USDA zone info for Ontario.

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 frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Ontario 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. If you wait any later than that and your arabis may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your arabis indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Ontario. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ontario is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ontario it frosts late in the year after January 31 so be sure to be ready to cover your arabis if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ontario

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 Ontario

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