One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

A way of estimating when it's the best time to plant arabis is to consult the USDA zone info for Olean.

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 tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Olean 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. If you wait 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Olean. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Olean is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Olean there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your arabis in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Olean

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Olean

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