When to Plant Watercress in Dothan, AL

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 estimate when to plant watercress by reviewing the USDA zone info for Dothan.


Planting Calendar for Watercress

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

Watercress do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Dothan 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 watercress and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your watercress indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Dothan. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Dothan is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Dothan you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your watercress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dothan

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Dothan

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