One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Altoona you will be able to determine when it's possible 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 more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Altoona is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant arabis and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your arabis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your arabis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Altoona. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Altoona may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Altoona you get a frost after May 15 so always be ready to cover your arabis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Altoona

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