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.

The USDA zone info for Oak Island should be used to estimate 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 do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Oak Island 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. Any later than that and your arabis may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your arabis indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Oak Island. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oak Island and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Oak Island it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your arabis in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Island

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Oak Island

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Island.