Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Fairbanks should be looked at to estimate when to plant rock cress.

Planting Calendar for Rock Cress

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

Since rock cress are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant 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 rock cress and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your rock cress may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your rock cress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Fairbanks is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Fairbanks there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your rock cress in the event of 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.