The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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 USDA zone info for Bessemer should be reffered to in order to determine when it's possible to plant bittercress.

Planting Calendar for Bittercress

Frost tolerance for bittercress:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Bittercress tend to make it in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bittercress in Bessemer 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 bittercress and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your bittercress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bittercress indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Bessemer. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bessemer 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 Bessemer last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your bittercress in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bessemer

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 Bessemer

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