One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

In Elk River you can determine when it's the best time to plant arabis by using 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 get them planted much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Elk River 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. If you wait any later than that and your arabis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your arabis indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Elk River may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Elk River you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your arabis in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Elk River

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 Elk River

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Elk River.