When to Plant Arabis in Zone 4b

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

A way of figuring out when to plant arabis is to use the USDA zone info for Zone 4b.


Planting Calendar for Arabis

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

Arabis do ok in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit 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 4b 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 really do well. 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

In Zone 4b the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°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 Zone 4b and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 4b it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your arabis in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 4b

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 Zone 4b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 4b.