When to Plant Arabis in Pittsfield, IL

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.

In Pittsfield you can determine when it's a good idea to plant arabis by referring to 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.

Arabis do well in cold which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant arabis
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant arabis
Probably not a good time to plant arabis

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Pittsfield 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your arabis indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Pittsfield the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Pittsfield 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 Pittsfield there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your arabis if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Pittsfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Pittsfield

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