One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You will be able to figure out when it's possible to plant aubrieta by reviewing the USDA zone info for Washington.

Planting Calendar for Aubrieta

Frost tolerance for aubrieta:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since aubrieta do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant aubrieta in Washington 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 aubrieta and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your aubrieta may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your aubrieta indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Washington. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Washington is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Washington you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your aubrieta if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

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 Washington

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