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.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant aubrieta is to use the USDA zone info for Big Stone Gap.

Planting Calendar for Aubrieta

Frost tolerance for aubrieta:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant aubrieta just a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant aubrieta in Big Stone Gap 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 aubrieta and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your aubrieta may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your aubrieta indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Big Stone Gap the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Big Stone Gap and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Big Stone Gap it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your aubrieta if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Big Stone Gap

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Big Stone Gap

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Stone Gap.