Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Charlottesville you should be able 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.

Arabis do well in cold which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Charlottesville 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your arabis indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Charlottesville. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Charlottesville is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Charlottesville it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your arabis if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlottesville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Charlottesville

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