One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The USDA zone info for Grand Rapids should be read to determine when to plant arabis.

Planting Calendar for Arabis

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

Since arabis are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Grand Rapids 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 fully mature. Starting your arabis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Grand Rapids. It might get as low as -35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind 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 Grand Rapids and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Grand Rapids there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your arabis if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Grand Rapids

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Grand Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Grand Rapids.