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 best time to plant arabis in Santa Cruz should be estimated by checking out 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.

You can plant arabis much earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Santa Cruz 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. Any later than that and your arabis may not have a chance to really do well. 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 has passed is on February 15 in Santa Cruz. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Cruz is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Cruz you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your arabis in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Cruz

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 Santa Cruz

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Cruz.