When to Plant Arabis in Zone 3a

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.

The first opportunity to plant arabis in Zone 3a can be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

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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 weather which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant arabis
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant arabis
Probably not a good time to plant arabis

The earliest that you can plant arabis in Zone 3a 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 fully mature. If you are starting your arabis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 3a the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -40°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 3a and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 3a last frost occurs after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your arabis in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-40°F
Highest Expected Low-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3a.