One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

You should be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant purple rock cress by referring to the USDA zone info for Fairbanks.

Planting Calendar for Purple Rock Cress

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

Since purple rock cress do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant purple rock cress in Fairbanks is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant purple rock cress and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your purple rock cress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your purple rock cress indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Fairbanks the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -50°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Fairbanks and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Fairbanks there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your purple rock cress if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fairbanks

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	August 15
Lowest Expected Low	-50°F
Highest Expected Low	-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairbanks

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