Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to determine when it's possible to plant arabis by looking at the USDA zone info for Fort Dodge.

Planting Calendar for Arabis

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

Arabis are very cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Fort Dodge 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 really do well. Starting your arabis indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Fort Dodge. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Fort Dodge may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Fort Dodge there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your arabis in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Dodge

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 Fort Dodge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Dodge.