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

The best time to plant arabis in Austin should be estimated by checking out 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 start planting them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Austin is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant arabis and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your arabis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your arabis indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Austin the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Austin and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Austin it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your arabis if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Austin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Austin

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