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.

The best time to plant arabis in Chesapeake should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Arabis

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

You can plant arabis a lot earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Chesapeake 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 few weeks earlier by starting your arabis indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Chesapeake. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chesapeake is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Chesapeake you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your arabis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chesapeake

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 Chesapeake

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