The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Cedar Rapids you can figure out when it's the best time to plant arabis by reviewing 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 other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Cedar Rapids 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. Any later than that and your arabis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your arabis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Cedar Rapids. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Cedar Rapids last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your arabis in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cedar Rapids

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Cedar Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cedar Rapids.