The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant arabis is to examine the USDA zone info for Mount Sterling.

Planting Calendar for Arabis

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

Arabis tend to make it in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Mount Sterling 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your arabis may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your arabis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mount Sterling. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mount Sterling may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mount Sterling last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your arabis in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Sterling

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Mount Sterling

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Sterling.