The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine 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.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant arabis is to refer to the USDA zone info for Ocean City.

Planting Calendar for Arabis

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

Arabis can survive in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Ocean City 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your arabis indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ocean City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ocean City and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ocean City last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your arabis in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ocean City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Ocean City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Ocean City.