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.

The USDA zone info for The Colony should be reviewed to estimate when it's the best time 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 quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in The Colony 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your arabis may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your arabis indoors.

Last Frost Date

In The Colony the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember 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 The Colony and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in The Colony you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your arabis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for The Colony

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 The Colony

You may be interested in your other planting guides for The Colony.